The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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68 ■ THE WOLFPACKER infield grounder. The preliminary diagnosis was a serious ankle sprain and a possible extended absence from the lineup. X-rays and an MRI revealed a fibular fracture. He missed nine games, and while he was still a player to be reckoned with the remainder of the season, he was never quite the same. "I think it hurt me most hitting," Turner said. "I hit with a stiff front leg and it was hard for me to keep my foot on the ground while hitting because of a little bit of swell- ing in the ankle that I had after I got hurt." In 42 games after returning from the injury, Turner batted .337 with eight dou- bles, two triples, three home runs, 40 runs scored, 25 RBI and 22 stolen bases — all excellent numbers. His final numbers — a .368 average, 13 doubles, four triples, seven home runs, 66 runs scored, 42 RBI and 30 steals in 36 attempts — earned him second-team All-America recognition, but those who saw him those first three weeks of the year could only wonder, what if? Even so, with a dinged-up Turner leading the team in average, runs, hits (84), triples, steals, on-base percentage (.455) and slug- ging percentage (.533), the Wolfpack won 31 of his first 35 games back in the lineup to recover from an 18-12 start and reach the College World Series for the first time since 1968. For Turner, it was a long, trying and ultimately satisfying season. "It wasn't an easy season," Turner said. "Dealing with the injury was difficult. Sit- ting out two weeks was about the worst experience I've ever had in the game. We had some team adversity at the beginning of the year, too. In the end, it was still a successful season, getting to the College World Series for the first time in 45 years. I was pleased with the season." Turner entered 2014 healthy and poised for a great junior campaign. At some point during fall practice, he noticed that the ankle no longer was a factor, that he could plant his front foot while batting, push off and turn on the base paths with his left leg and move in either direction defensively with no discomfort. He had a big fall, and he got the regular season off to a nice start. Through seven games, he was hitting a team-best .423 (11 for 26) with five RBI and a team-leading six steals in seven at- tempts. The Wolfpack was 6-1 after an opening-day loss to Canisius and ranked No. 6 in the Feb. 17 Baseball America poll. Expectations are running high at Doak Field at Dail Park, and meeting those ex- pectations matters infinitely more to Turner than meeting anyone's expectations for the June draft. "It's 100 percent about winning," Turner said. "Nobody's going to put bigger ex- pectations on us than us. We're very com- petitive, and if we fall short of our goals, it's because our goals are higher than any expectations that anyone else puts on us. We all believe in that, and we all trust that we have the ability to do that. "The draft's going to come and it's going to go. I just want to keep playing baseball and I want to win. That's what we're fo- cusing on, and the draft is really out of my mind right now." ■ NC State's Top Five All-Time Best Position Players 1. Tom Sergio, 2B/OF 1994-97 — A two-time All-American and a first-team All-American in 1997, Sergio was NC State's greatest leadoff hitter. He hit .371 for his career with an on-base percentage better than .450. He is the school's career leader in runs (290), ranks second in hits (362), triples (19) and steals (73), and is in the top 10 in RBI (167) and walks (150). He added power as a senior, belting 16 homers and driving in 68 runs while batting .412 with a school-record .526 on-base percentage. 2. Brian Bark, OF, 1987-90 — A two-way player, Bark finished his career at NC State as the owner of 15 school single-season and career records (all since broken), 12 of them offensive marks, including the career marks for games played, consecutive games played, runs scored, hits, doubles, RBI, walks and total bases. He tied an NCAA record by collecting six hits, including two homers, in an NCAA Tournament game, and was the first player in school history to collect 100 hits in a single season. 3. Jake Weber, OF, 1995-98 — An iron man who started every game the Wolfpack played during his four seasons, Weber ranks as the ACC record holder for consecutive games played (248), and is the NC State career leader for hits (366), triples (21), RBI (239), walks (154, tied) and total bases (582). He ranks second in runs (288), and is in the top 10 in doubles, home runs and stolen bases. He was a two-time first-team All-ACC selection, and a two-time second-team pick. 4. Chris Cammack, 3B, 1968-71 — The Wolfpack never played more than 34 games in a season during Cammack's career, and he used wood bats the entire time, yet he is one of just eight two-time All-Americans in Wolfpack history and one of just four players from any school ever named All-ACC four times. He was the 1969 ACC Player of the Year. Cammack posted a career .362 batting average, scored 83 runs and drove in 70 in 120 games. He also walked nearly twice as often as he struck out (78-45), and was the offensive leader on the Wolf - pack's 1968 College World Series team. 5. Turtle Zaun, 1B, 1985-88 — Zaun was an All-American in 1987 and '88, was a three-time first-team All-ACC pick, and was the 1988 ACC Player of the Year. He tied the school single-season homer mark with 25 in 1988 after hitting 22 the year before. He left NC State as the school's career leader in homers with 54 and still ranks second. He also ranks fourth in school annals with a .372 career batting average, fifth with 195 RBI, and sixth with 451 total bases. — Bruce Winkworth Through seven games of the 2014 campaign, Turner was hitting a team-best .423 (11 for 26) with five RBI and a team-leading six steals in seven attempts. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP 66-68.Trea Turner.indd 68 2/25/14 2:30 PM