RED TECHNICIAN
inside red Newcomers expected to make instant impact in Raleigh See page 4.
Trio of All- Americans provide veteran leadership See page 5.
Challenging schedule presents problems and opportunities for Pack See page 7.
2014 Roster Jake Armstrong, No. 23 Junior Infielder Odessa, Texas
Patrick Peterson, No. 47 Junior Pitcher Bear, Del.
Brett Austin, No. 7 Junior Catcher Charlotte, N.C.
Johnny Piedmonte 33 Sophomore Pitcher Davidson, N.C.
Skyler Bean, No. 1 Freshman Infielder Rockwall, Texas
Logan Ratledge No. 6 Junior Infielder Charlotte, N.C.
Cody Beckman, No. 34 Freshman Pitcher Tampa, Fla.
Will Raynor, No. 42 Freshman Outfielder Benson, N.C.
Kyle Cavanaugh, No. 18 Freshman Catcher Winter Park, Fla.
Bubby Riley, No. 2 Junior Outfielder New Orleans, La.
Brian Donovan, No. 47 Sophomore Pitcher Waxhaw, N.C.
Carlos Rodon, No. 16 Junior Pitcher Holly Springs, N.C.
Jake Fincher, No. 30 Junior Outfielder Charlotte, N.C.
Chance Shepard, 24 Sophomore Catcher Wilmington, N.C.
Will Gilbert, No. 51 Sophomore Pitcher Morrisville, N.C.
Brad Stone, No. 26 Sophomore Pitcher Charlotte, N.C.
Nathan Hood, No. 22 Freshman Outfielder Clarkton, N.C.
Garrett Suggs, No. 15 Freshman Outfielder Fuquay-Varina, N.C.
Logan Jernigan, No. 14 Junior Pitcher Four Oaks, N.C.
Brian Taylor, No. 20 Sophomore Outfielder Lillington, N.C.
Karl Keglovits, No. 25 Sophomore Pitcher Nazareth, Pa.
D.J. Thomas, No. 38 Senior Pitcher Durham, N.C.
Andrew Knizner, No. 11 Freshman Infielder Glen Allen, Va.
Trea Turner, No. 8 Junior Infielder Lake Worth, Fla.
John Mangum, No. 28 Sophomore Catcher Waxhaw, N.C.
Matt Vernon, No. 10 Freshman Third Base Advance, N.C.
Will Nance, No. 19 Sophomore Outfielder Eden, N.C.
Luke Voiron, No. 31 Junior Catcher New Orleans, La.
Joe O’Donnell, No. 41 Freshman Pitcher Wilmington, N.C.
Cory Wilder, No. 35 Freshman Pitcher Lima, Ohio
Jon Olczak, No. 17 Sophomore Pitcher Greensboro, N.C. Travis Orwig, No. 39 Junior Pitcher Parker, Colo.
Chris Williams, No. 27 Junior Pitcher Cary, N.C.
Preston Palmeiro 12 Freshman First Base Colleyville, Texas
Andrew Woeck, No. 13 Senior Pitcher Brier, Wash.
Eric Peterson, No. 39 Junior Pitcher Bear, Del.
Elliott Avent, No. 9 Head Coach, 18th year Aventon, N.C.
Ryan Williamson, No. 3 Freshman Pitcher Cranford, N.J.
State’s lineup features mix of youth and experience Grant Rankin Correspondent
Junior pitcher Carlos Rodon, the 2013 USA Baseball Player of the Year, headlines N.C. State’s pitching staff this season. All three of N.C. State’s weekend starters are back, and all are on the radar of Major League Baseball club, so look for State’s starters to carry a heavier innings load while the Pack breaks in a new bullpen rotation. With the nation’s 13th ranked recruiting class in 2013, there is certainly hope for sustained success at N.C. State. The Wolfpack has a host of veterans to rely on, but there are plenty of other faces that will have a huge say in the Pack’s fortunes this season. Projected Pitching Rotation Friday - junior left-hander Carlos Rodon Rodon, who has been dubbed “the best collegiate pitcher since David Price” by Sporting News, combines a mid-to-upper 90s fastball with a nasty cutter (9091 mph), as well a “plus” slider. He is a dominant pitcher that combines measurables (6’ 3”, 234 lbs.), incredible statistics (12.9 strikeouts per nine innings) and a fearsome pitching arsenal that should only continue to get better. Saturday - junior right-hander Logan Jernigan Jernigan returns as a junior weekend starter for N.C. State. He is a superior athlete with a good build (6’3, 190) and a solid delivery. His fastball sits in the low 90s range, but it is his power curveball that could develop into a “plus” pitch for him. Sunday - sophomore left-hander Brad Stone Stone was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 35th round of
the 2012 First Year Player Draft, but opted instead to attend N.C. State. The Charlotte native has appeared in 13 games during his freshman campaign, including 11 starts, and was second on the pitching staff in strikeouts (60 in 60 innings pitched). Projected Key Relievers Relief Pitcher – senior Andrew Woeck Woeck looks to be the projected closer at this point, with good command on four different pitches. His slider is his best pitch – as is with most closers – and sits at 83-85 mph. Relief Pitcher – junior Eric Peterson Eric Peterson is one of two Peterson twins who will be eligible to play immediately for N.C. State, after transferring to Raleigh from Temple. Eric Peterson was a weekend starter for the Owls last year, posting a 6-3 record with a 3.03 ERA, with 69 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings. Relief Pitcher – junior Patrick Peterson Patrick Peterson, the twin brother of Eric Peterson, was Temple’s Friday starter in 2013. He made 12 starts, posting a 2-7 record with a 4.43 ERA, while striking out 51 in 69 innings. Projected Starting Fielders 1B – freshman Kyle Cavanaugh Replacing former captain Tarran Senay was always going to be a difficult task for the Wolfpack. However, Cavanaugh was named to the second-team All-Florida Region team by Perfect Game USA as a high school senior in 2013, and at 6’ 5”, can certainly provide power from anywhere in the lineup. 2B – junior Logan Ratledge Ratledge returns for his third consecutive year starting at second base. The Charlotte native is a veteran of this baseball team,
and he is very tough to strike out and will be expected to provide a spark at the top of the order. 3B – freshman Andrew Knizner Rodon singled out Knizner as the most impressive freshman on the team thus far at the team’s media day on Friday. Knizner was one of the highest-rated freshmen in his class, and will look to solidify the hot corner as his own for years to come. SS – junior Trea Turner Turner is arguably the best position player in all of college baseball. As a returning first team AllACC member and second team All-American, Turner led the Pack in batting average (.368), runs (66), hits (84), triples (four), total bases (126), walks (38), OBP (.455) and stolen bases (30) de-
spite missing 11 games due to an ankle injury. LF – junior Bubby Riley Riley can flat out rake the ball, as evidenced by his impressive stat line at Delgado Community College. The New Orleans native batted .314 with 11 doubles, seven triples, six home runs, 50 RBIs and 12 steals in 55 games as a sophomore at Delgado, and will likely provide valuable line-up protection for Turner and Austin. CF – junior Jake Fincher Though he may be most known for his diving grab in the right field corner against Binghamton in N.C. State’s regional opener, Fincher will start for the third consecutive year in the outfield, and he will bring superior defensive skills to the centerfield
position. RF – freshman Garrett Suggs Suggs is yet another newcomer that N.C. State is expecting big things from this season. Suggs batted .449 as a senior at Fuquay-Varina High School and was named first team All-State by the North Carolina High School Coaches Association. C – junior Brett Austin The All-American and team co-captain will look to improve upon a sophomore year in which he led the team in doubles, with 21. His leadership and consistency at the plate will be muchneeded this season as the Pack looks to make a run at a National Championship.
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Newcomers expected to make instant impact in Raleigh Luke Nadkarni Assistant Sports Editor
The N.C. State baseball team returns several key players from last season’s team, which went all the way to the College World Series. Junior left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon, junior catcher Brett Austin, junior shortstop Trea Turner and junior outfielder Jake Fincher are just a few of the players who will get a lot of attention from professional scouts, media and Wolfpack fans alike. But the Pack also lost plenty of production from last season’s team. Former first baseman Tarran Senay, whose eight home runs led the team in 2013, has graduated. Former outfielder Brett Williams also graduated. Williams boasted the second-highest fielding percentage among Wolfpack starters at .993 and had a highlight-reel diving catch in a game against New Mexico State that turned him into a YouTube sensation. Other players that are gone include fellow outfielder Bryan Adametz and third baseman Grant Clyde, as well as several key members of manager Elliot Avent’s bullpen, which bailed the Wolfpack out of many a tough situation in 2013. A big task for Avent’s club is developing his younger crop of players and plugging them into the holes left by last season’s departures. “Tarran [Senay] is not coming back. Grant [Clyde] is not coming back,” Avent said. “[The young guys] are going to have to step up. We’ve told them that from the beginning.” Freshman infielder Andrew Knizner is one of those young guys. The Glen Allen, Va., native batted .453 last season with five homers and led Hanover High School to the Virginia Class AAA state title. Knizner is projected to fill Clyde’s spot at third base, and he said he is ready to hit the ground running. “It’s a little crazy, coming out of high school and coming right on the field to play in college,” Knizner said. “You have to buy into what the coaches say and perform under big expectations.” Knizner said he was also enticed to come
to State because of the University’s academic programs. “I wanted to go into engineering, so State fit me academically as well,” Knizner said. “The coaching style is great, the facilities are great and overall it’s a great school as well as a great baseball program.” A player to watch in the outfield is junior college transfer Bubby Riley. Riley, who will have two years of eligibility for the Wolfpack, hit .314 with six home runs and drove in 50 runs in 2013 at Delgado Community College in Covington, La. But now, Riley said he is aching to begin the next stage in his baseball career. “In junior college you’re just playing in front of your parents and friends,” Riley said. “Here you have a legitimate fan base and reporters coming to talk to you, and the spotlight is a lot bigger. It’s a great opportunity.”
“[The young guys] are going to have to step up. We’ve told them that from the beginning.” Elliott Avent, head baseball coach
Riley said the chance to make an immediate impact and help the Wolfpack return to the promised land of college baseball made State a particularly attractive school to continue his baseball career. “I had a lot of good offers, but I looked at who State had coming back and saw it as my best opportunity to play right away on a team that could go to the College World Series,” Riley said. “That really made it an easy choice.” Other freshmen that will be fighting for playing time in the field include outfielder Garrett Suggs, catcher Kyle Cavanaugh and first baseman Preston Palmeiro, the son of former MLB slugger Rafael Palmeiro. “I think our chemistry is great,” Knizner said. “The older guys give us a lot of leadership. They’ve welcomed us younger guys with open arms. You can’t ask for more than that.”
Trio of All-Americans provides veteran leadership Jake Lange Correspondent
“When you look at N.C. State, the first thing you think of is [junior pitcher] Carlos Rodon, [junior infielder] Trea Turner and [junior catcher] Brett Austin; our three captains,” head Coach Elliot Avent said. With N.C. State’s baseball season opener Sunday, a whirlwind of anticipation surrounds the team’s three All-Americans who are hungry for a national championship. The Wolfpack was knocked out of last season’s College World Series by its archrival, UNC-Chapel Hill. The three captains of the baseball team have set high expectations for the Pack’s season. They said they expect nothing less than their desired outcome. “We’ve got a bitter taste in our mouths from last year,” Austin said. “We want to get back [to the College World Series] and we want to win it.” As a leadoff hitter last season, Austin led the Pack with 21 doubles and caught 586 of 616 innings behind the plate. Austin has stepped up as a dependable team leader since becoming a captain and said he concentrates on “handling the new guys” coming into this season. During the offseason, Austin said he remained irritated about the Wolfpack’s loss to Carolina in the College World Series. But if State comes up short this season, it won’t be due to any offseason laziness by its star catcher. “I’ve worked my butt off this fall,” Austin said. “Learning to deal with failure is probably the biggest thing you can do as a baseball player.” One of those pitching to Austin this season will be Rodon, the Wolfpack’s left-handed ace and the top MLB Draft prospect in next year’s class, according to Baseball America. Last season, as a sophomore, Rodon set a single season N.C. State record with 184 strikeouts, a statistic that draws parallels to the college careers of Tim Lincecum, Stephen Strasburg, and David Price. He finished the season with a 2.99 ERA and
J.TYLER ANDREWS/TECHNICIAN
Junior catcher Brett Austin (left), junior pitcher Carlos Rodon (top right) and junior infielder Trea Turner (bottom right) will hope to power N.C. State to its second consecutive appearence in the College World Series. Rodon was named the 2013 USA Baseball Player of the Year, while Turner and Austin were named preseason first-team and third-team All-Americans, respectively, by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
won the coveted USA Baseball Player of the Year award. Rodon said he is returning to the mound this season with high hopes. “It’s safe to say that if we don’t get back to Omaha, it’s pretty much a failure of a season,” Rodon said. “Omaha or Bust” seems to be the theme inside the locker room this season and everyone in the program seems to be on board. Turner echoed Rodon’s comments, and he said he wants the Wolfpack to be the last team standing. “As long as we’re the last team to win, [that’s] all I care about,” Turner said.
Despite missing 11 games due to an ankle injury last season, Turner led the team with a .368 batting average while also leading in runs, hits, stolen bases, triples, total bases, walks and on base percentage. “It’s gonna take other people to do their jobs and win games,” Turner said. “It’s going to be a complete effort and new people are going to have to step up and play, and I think they will.” Coaching the Wolfpack’s All-American trio will be the same man who recruited them to State. This will be Avent’s 18th season coaching at N.C. State, and he is already predicting a successful season, say-
ing, “There could be a parade in Raleigh some time in July.” Avent said he believes in his captains and couldn’t be more honored than to be their coach. “[They’re part of the] best recruiting class N.C. State’s ever had in the history of its program,” Avent said. “And it’s a very storied program.” “I’ve coached for a long time, and I’ve coached a lot of great players. I don’t think it can get any better than these three right here, all three together.”
Challenging schedule presents problems and opportunities for Pack Zack Tanner Staff Writer
The 2014 season is shaping up to be a challenging one for the N.C. State baseball team. The Wolfpack, the No. 5 team in the nation according to Baseball America¸ will be seeing plenty of top-25 competition this season, ensuring State will be battletested by the end of the season. The Pack was scheduled to kick off its season with a three-game series in California against UCSanta Barbara. However, the Pack did not play the Gauchos due to weather and travel issues. The Gauchos, ranked No. 39 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, would have been a good test for the Pack.
Instead, The Pack began its season opener against Canisius. State dropped its first game against the Golden Griffins, 3-0, Sunday. Before conference play begins in March, State will make its rounds across North Carolina, playing in-state schools such as Davidson and North Carolina A&T. While most of these schools will serve as tasty cupcakes before a grueling ACC season, a threegame series in Raleigh against perennial Southern Conference power Appalachian State will be a tricky test for the Pack. The most important preconference event will be a matchup against No. 12 UCLA, winner of the 2013 College World Series. State will travel to the USA
Baseball Complex in Cary to take on the Bruins on Mar. 1. The game will be a part of the threeday Irish Classic, an event hosted in the Triangle that showcases the nation’s top collegiate programs. State will also take on Michigan and Youngstown State during the Classic. Conference newcomer Notre Dame will be State’s first ACC opponent of 2014. The threegame series in Raleigh against the Fighting Irish will make for an easy transition into ACC play for State, as the Irish will most likely be in a rebuilding stage after losing their starting first and third basemen to the MLB Draft. In the preseason ACC Coaches’ Poll, Florida State was projected
to win the Atlantic division over the Pack. The Pack will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. on Mar. 14 to take on the No. 6 Seminoles in a three-game series. Besides FSU and NCSU, four other teams in the ACC are ranked in the preseason top 25: No. 1 Virginia, No. 13 Clemson, No. 16 Miami, and No. 17 UNCChapel Hill. The Pack will have three games against the Tigers and Hurricanes, with Miami coming to Raleigh from Mar. 28-30 and the Pack visiting Clemson on Apr. 5-7. However, State’s schedule is free of any matchup with the topranked Cavaliers. The Pack will get its only regular season shot at its archrival Tar Heels at Durham Athletic
Park on Apr. 15. After being eliminated from the College World Series by Carolina last season, State players and fans will likely have that matchup circled and starred on their calendars. In the midst of ACC play, the Pack is also slated for numerous one-game series with small schools, but these w ill be anything but a cakewalk for the Pack. State should be very wary of teams such as East Carolina, UNC-Wilmington and Coastal Carolina – all squads capable of an upset on any given night. If the Wolfpack makes it to the College World Series again this year, then this State team will have earned its keep against the best teams collegiate baseball has to offer.