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TECHNICIAN
2 • Thursday, February 25 • RED
Returning players lead NC State baseball David Kehrli Staff Writer
Garrison Rountree Correspondent
After a fruitful 2015 campaign, the NC State men’s baseball team looks poised for greater success in 2016. Last season culminated with an ACC Championship game appearance and an appearance in the NCAA Regional game. Despite a 6-2 defeat to Florida State in the ACC Championship and a narrow 9-8 loss to Texas Christian in its Fort Worth Regional matchup, the team achievements greatly surpassed
expectations. This year, the Pack opens the season with higher expectations as evidenced by its preseason national rankings of No. 10 according to D1Baseball.com and No. 19 by Baseball America. While several ACC teams are ranked ahead of them, this is a team capable of winning its first ACC Championship under head coach Elliott Avent. Despite much of last season’s team returning, the Wolfpack must replace seniors Logan Ratledge and Jake Fincher. Ratledge closed out his final year with the Wolfpack quite well, leading the squad with a batting average of .329 and hit-
ting 10 home runs. On the defensive side, the senior shortstop also completed the year posting a .949 fielding percentage. While Fincher struggled production wise last season due to injuries, he still managed to score 43 runs — second on the team — but most of all, his leadership skills will be missed. This season, it will be largely up to juniors Andrew Knizner and Preston Palmeiro to fill the offensive void. During 2015, Knizner hit .317 with five home runs, 42 RBIs and scored 32 runs. Meanwhile, Palmeiro was able to post a .305 batting average last season and drove in 49 runs, the most of any Wolfpack player.
In addition to Knizner and Palmeiro, stay on the lookout for sophomore Joe Dunand. In his first year, Dunand hit .219 and had 40 RBIs. The sophomore also hit seven home runs, tying for second on the team. While Knizner is in prime position to continue his form in the infield this season, the graduation of Bubby Riley and Ratledge leaves room for young players to step up in the outfield and at shortstop. Sophomore Brock Deatherage has the potential to emerge as a vital play for the Pack in the outfield. With a .949 fielding percentage, Deatherage maintained consistent form throughout 2015.
Dunand has made the transition over to shortstop. At 6-foot2, 205 pounds, the Miami native has a large frame and a keen awareness to go along with his strong arm. On the mound, the Pack returns the vast majority of its innings pitched last year from a team that ranked 15th nationally in ERA. Sophomore Brian Brown came out of nowhere last year to become the team’s most consistent pitcher by season end. All indications point to an improved version of Brown this year. In addition to Brown, juniors Johnny Piedmonte, Cory Wilder and Joe O’Donnell hope to im-
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NICK FAULKNER/ARCHIVE
Sophomore catcher Andrew Knizner double checks a call with the dugout during the ACC Championship game against Florida State University. Though the Wolfpack had overcome adversity to get to the game, it lost 6-2 May 24 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
prove on a solid 2015 campaign. Sophomore Tommy DeJuneas, after struggling early in the season, found his stuff late in the year and will look to regain that form this season. The Wolfpack started the 2016 season going 2-1 at the Caravelle Resort’s Baseball at the Beach event. After being held scoreless in the opening game, the Pack combined to score 20 total runs in the next two games. Nineteen of the Pack’s next 20 games following the trip to
NICK FAULKNER/ARCHIVE
Sophomore pitcher Joe O’Donnell pitches for a no-hitter inning during the ACC Championship game against Florida State University . Though the Wolfpack fought hard to get the championship game, it fell short in the 6-2 loss May 24 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
the beach take place within the friendly confines of Doak Field at Dail Park, giving the Pack a great opportunity to pick up plenty of wins before heading into the meat of its ACC schedule. The early season nonconference slate features game against in-state opponents UNC-Greensboro and UNC-Wilmington. Additionally, the team will play series against Wright State and Fairfield before conference play begins. The Pack will also play in
the USA Baseball-Irish Classic against Niagara, Alabama and Bucknell with two of the games at Doak Field and one at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary. NC State opens ACC play with a three-game series against Boston College — who finished 2015 at the bottom of the Atlantic division — March 11–13 at Doak Field. After a quick two-game series with Indiana State the Pack will host a series against Notre Dame
March 18–20. Last season, the Irish were one of the top teams in the ACC and went 1-2 in the Champaign Regional. March 25–27 the Wolfpack heads to Tallahassee, Florida to take on Florida State in its first conference road series of the season. A f ter a contest w it h UNC-Charlotte at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, State travels to Charlottesville, Virginia April 1–3 to face the defending National Champion Virginia Cavaliers.
The remainder of the schedule features home series with Wake Forest, North Carolina A&T and Duke and away series with Georgia Tech, Clemson and Louisville. The Pack closes the regular season May 19–21 at Doak Field against rival UNC-Chapel Hill before heading to Durham for the ACC Baseball Championship May 24–29.
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Piedmonte finds inspiration through adversity Joseph Ochoa Staff Writer
Two-and-a-half years ago, redshirt junior pitcher Johnny Piedmonte was preparing for the 2014 season. Then, a car accident forced him into back surgery and another missed season after missing 2013 recovering from Tommy John surgery. After getting through the last season injury-free, Piedmonte is primed to make his mark on the 2016 season. Head coach Elliott Avent is proud of the hard work his pitcher has put in in order to get to where he is today. “He’s such a tremendous story,” Avent said. “He’s battled so many things in life, he had that set-back with the car accident. Best thing I can say about him is to get to know him.” The dedication to return from his injuries has motivated his teammates to take their game to a whole other level, according fellow junior pitcher Joe O’Donnell. “It’s definitely impressive to watch,” O’Donnell said. “It definitely makes the guys better, when you see a guy come back from things like that, it really makes you want to put in the work too.” In 2015, Piedmonte had a modest season in his return from back surgery, pitching 49.2 innings with 40 strikeouts and a decent 3.26 ERA in 12 starts. With another offseason free of injury setbacks, Piedmonte is ready to step up following his first injury-free season in almost three years. “It was an ideal first year for me,” Piedmonte said. “I worked out a lot and my coaches did a great job in the offseason and I
think that’s what has prepared me for this season.” According to pitching coach Scott Foxhall, the goal last season was to get Piedmonte ready mentally as the coaches didn’t seem too worried about his physical rehab. “He’s a big strong guy and we felt like he was healthy,” Foxhall said. “I don’t think that played a huge part into it other than the mental part of it for him, just getting out and trying to turn over the lineup three times instead of two.” Foxhall also stated that the bullpen strength was also a major factor for not having Piedmonte go deep into the game. “I thought the bullpen was the strength of this team last year,” Foxhall said. “But the thing that Johnny’s been working on to go deep into the games is his offspeed pitches. When we made changes last year, we need a lot of people who could get people to swing and miss and he’s been working to improve that this year.” In the first game of the season against Old Dominion, however, Piedmonte struggled with his command of pitches early and it resulted in a 5-0 loss to open the season, only lasting through two and two-thirds innings. Despite getting the quick hook, Piedmonte only gave up two earned runs, a whole run down from his average from last year. Avent was quick to mention that the performance was not the Piedmonte he is used to seeing. “He didn’t really have good stuff today,” Avent said following the game. “He always has command and is always throw-
SORENA DADGAR/ARCHIVE
Redshirt sophomore Johnny Piedmonte pitches during the March 8 game against Clemson at Doak Field. He managed four strikeouts and gave up only four hits during the 14-6 win against the Tigers.
ing downhill. Today just wasn’t Johnny Piedmonte.” As for digging down for motivation, Piedmonte doesn’t have to look far from his family tree to get inspiration. Piedmonte’s brother has Down syndrome, and Piedmonte always turns to him when things in his life get him down. This support helped Piedmonte when he was recovering from his back surgery following his car accident in 2013 and when he was handling the team’s heartbreaking regional elimination game against TCU at the end of last season. “He was there with us when we lost to TCU in Texas,” Piedmonte said. “I was upset, we were all upset, but when you see him after the game it just puts a smile on
your face. He’s always laughing and always smiling, he definitely lightened the mood for me.” Piedmonte also mentioned his mother is helpful as a flight attendant in getting his brother to some of the games that are not local. “As a flight attendant, my mom and my family can fly for free,” Piedmonte said. “They were able to get come up for the Notre Dame series last year which was nice.” The inspiration from his brother is so strong that when Piedmonte is done with baseball, he plans to run an indoor baseball facility that caters specifically to children with special needs. “My brother was the main the main inspiration for that idea,”
Piedmonte said. “I also did some work with the Special Olympics when I was in high school. You saw how much fun they had, it’s a good scene for all the kids.” As for how to get that dream going, Piedmonte already has a few ideas that could get the plan from being more than just an idea and into a reality. “I have a friend, Nick Owens, his dad owns a baseball facility in Charlotte,” Piedmonte said. “I’m gonna talk to him about how it works and how to start it up.” With the first weekend series behind him, Piedmonte will continue to be an integral part of the success of a season with high expectations.
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Pack softball prepares for its upcoming season Taylor Peers Staff Writer
The NC State softball team has another big year ahead of itself following its first performance in an NCAA Super Regional. The 2016 season holds promise as the team opened the year in the top 25 for the first time in school history, ranked No. 23 in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches A ssociat ion (NFCA) and No. 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. In comparison, Florida State, the favorite to win the ACC, was ranked No. 10. “I know this team has the chance to make it there [Women’s College World Series],” freshman pitcher Brittany Nimmo said. “Having a chance to compete against some of the best teams in the nation during the regular season schedule is very exciting.” The upcoming California tournament will be the most difficult as NC State will face the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, Florida and Michigan. Missouri will also make an appearance and is ranked No. 15 and No. 12 between the two polls. NC State was picked to finish third in the ACC for the season, only behind Florida State and Notre Dame. Rival
“Having a chance to compete against some of the best teams is very exciting.” — Freshman pitcher Brittany Nimmo
UNC-Chapel Hill was picked to finish fifth. Pitcher Courtney Mirabella was ranked the No. 20 NCAA pitcher in the Fastpitch preseason rankings. The junior pitched 105 innings, struck out 130 batters, tossed seven complete games and two shutouts with a 2.80 ERA during the 2015 season. Mirabella has performed well in the ACC, averaging 8.7 strikeouts per seven innings, which is the third best in the conference and 26th in the NCAA. Nimmo looks to make her mark on the team from the mound in her f irst season with the Wolf pack. As a high school senior, she posted a 0.86 ERA and a 27-4 record en route to earning 2014-15 Gatorade Missouri Player of the Year honors. Additionally, she provides a threat from the plate as she posted a .425 batting average, 38 RBI and nine homers in her senior season. “I think the fall season got better for me as it progressed,” Nimmo said. “As I got my nerves out, I
started to get more comfortable on the field and relaxed. I think I stopped worrying so much about the small things and just played how I’ve been taught to play.” Junior Tyler Ross was named ACC Player of the Week Feb. 15 as she produced a .467 batting average on opening weekend. Ross had at least one hit in each of the five games and aided in 11 runs. The North Carolina native was perfect on stolen base attempts as well. The honor was her third ACC Player of the Week mention in her State career. The Wolf pack a lso welcomes the return of junior Hanna Sommer following an injury in the fall season. The Pack has already shown its strength in its first nine games of the spring season. With a 5-4 record, State has already had two games head to extra innings against UNC-Greensboro and Jacksonville and has shut out Coastal Carolina with two wins.
BRANDON LANG /ARCHIVE
Junior pitcher Courtney Mirabella goes through her wind up during the game against Wisconsin Saturday. The Wolfpack lost the game by a score of 2-1 in Dail Softball Stadium.
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RED • Thursday, February 25 • 7
Despite bloodline, Dunand creates own legacy Christian Candeloro Staff Writer
The first weekend of NC State baseball’s season can be seen as a microcosm of sophomore shortstop Joe Dunand’s collegiate baseball career. The rangy 6-foot-2 slugger entered his college career with larger-than-life expectations based a successful high school career and his championship bloodlines — and proceeded to struggle. Dunand hit just .219 in 2015, but his power and fielding was on display late in the season as he started to figure out the college game. In NC State’s 5-0 seasonopening loss to Old Dominion, Dunand went 0 for 3, grounding into a double play and committing an error. In NC State’s second game against No. 24 Coastal Carolina, he proceeded to start 0 for 3 at the plate. Then, just like last season, it clicked. Dunand drove a 2-1 pitch well over the fence in left field for his first hit of the 2016 season. He finished the weekend with four hits and three RBIs, helping State take a 2-1 record back to Raleigh. When discussions start about Dunand, they immediately start with his bloodlines. Dunand is the nephew of 14-time All-Star Yankee third-baseman Alex Rodriguez. Dunand doesn’t hide the fact that they are related and openly will talk about the role that his uncle has had in his development as a baseball player. “He’s always been there ; I work with him in the offseason,” Dunand said. “Anything that I need, he’s there for me. If
CAIDE WOODEN/ARCHIVE
Freshman infielder Joe Dunand sprints to first base after hitting a ground ball during NC State’s season opener against Villanova Feb. 13, 2015. Dunand had one hit and two RBIs in the Wolfpack’s 14-5 victory over the Wildcats.
I’m struggling I’ll call him and ask for some tips.” However, his identity can be blurred by both fans and media alike. “A-Rod’s nephew” is seemingly used more than his actual name. Instead, Dunand wants to be known simply as a leader in the Wolfpack clubhouse and as a catalyst in a potentially special season. “I think my role is to be a leader,” Dunand said. “Just help the team win ball games.” In the offseason, Dunand continued the recent trend
among Wolfpack players by making a significant position change from the hot corner to shortstop. He also worked on setting his front foot down in the same spot on his swing and getting stronger and faster to play his new position. “The transition wasn’t really so hard; I just really worked hard on my feet and defense,” Dunand said. “Just working hard with my dad and family. It wasn’t that hard because I played that position in high school.” The change comes with more
than just a difference in where he’ll line up in the f ield — Dunand will be relied upon to be the leader of the infield. Opening weekend brought a good first look at Dunand at his new position, with mixed results. Late in the final game of the series against Kent State, sophomore infielder Tim Dalporto grounded a ball deep into the hole at shortstop that Dunand ranged to his left and fired to first in a fashion that was reminiscent of a certain former Yankees shortstop. One batter later, Dunand
botched a routine bouncer that prolonged the inning. The growing pains are evident, but so is the talent. Dunand’s most inf luential family member will be there the whole way. “My dad, he’s affected me the most,” Dunand said. “He’s my inspiration. He’s worked with me since I was a baby. He’s always been there every step of the way.” On the field, Dunand embodies the baseball pedigree of his uncle. Off the field, he embodies so much more.
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NICK FAULKNER/ARCHIVE
Senior outfielder Logan Ratledge rounds second base against Elon University Wednesday. Ratledge had one hit and one run in the commanding 14-0 win on Doak Field .