The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/430118
JANUARY 2015 ■ 45 In addition to providing leadership, Fincher and Ratledge are key pieces of what should be a strong defensive team. Sopho- more Preston Palmeiro returns at first base, with Ratledge and junior college transfer Ryne Willard in some configuration at sec- ond base and shortstop. Freshman Joe Du- nand was extraordinary at third base in the fall. The outfield — with Fincher in center flanked by two from a group that includes seniors Jake Armstrong and Bubby Riley, and sophomores Garrett Suggs and Chance Shepard — should be strong. "Defensively, this could be our best team since 2012, when Chris Diaz was at short- stop and Trea was at third," Avent said. "This club reminds me of that team quite a bit de- fensively. Trea was a freshman that year and played third base as well as I've ever seen it played here. "Joe Dunand had that kind of fall at third. Chris Diaz was extremely solid at shortstop that year, and Logan Ratledge and Ryan Willard both played shortstop really well this fall. We were strong defensively the entire fall." The one fly in the defensive ointment is catcher, where Austin started all but eight games a year ago, and where the Wolfpack has virtually no returning experience. Junior college transfer Luke Voiron redshirted a year ago and probably has the edge, with Knizner, last year's third baseman and a Freshman All-American, making the transi- tion behind the plate to accommodate Du- nand at third. Freshmen Harris Yett and Scott Manea will pro- vide depth. Offensively, NC State was hardly a juggernaut in 2014, and losing Austin and Turner strips away much of that team's firepower. Between them, either Austin or Turner led the squad in hitting, runs scored, base hits, doubles, triples, home runs, sto- len bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The cupboard is not entirely bare, however. Knizner hit the ground running as a freshman last February and never stopped hitting, batting .330 with 11 doubles, four home runs, a team-high 47 RBI, a .373 on-base percentage and a .450 slugging percentage. Ratledge fin- ished the year hitting .274 with six doubles, five homers and 30 RBI, and batted .340 the last 26 games of the season. Fincher, mean- while, hit .262 with six doubles, two triples, 25 RBI and 12 steals in 13 attempts. With Ratledge and Fincher stealing 22 bases between them, the Pack should retain some of its trademark speed of recent years. Meanwhile, Ratledge, Knizner, Armstrong and Shepard combined to hit 16 home runs, while Dunand and fellow freshman Shane Shepard, Chance's kid brother, both showed power potential in the fall. "I do like this club offensively one through nine, maybe better than last year," Avent said. "At the end of the day, it's about scoring runs, and it doesn't matter how you get them. It's how many times they cross home plate. "I think not just one through nine, but maybe one through 15, we're much better than we've been in a while." NC State's biggest rebuilding job will be the pitching staff. Over the last two years, the Wolfpack has lost perhaps the best bullpen in the country (the dominant senior-laden group of 2013) and the best starting pitcher in the country (Rodon, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft by the Chicago White Sox). In their place is a talented but wholly inexperienced group with a combined total of 109 appearances and 183 innings pitched between them the last two years. The task in the fall, Avent said, was not so much to iden- tify a weekend rotation and as- sign bullpen roles, but to iden- tify the best 10 or so pitchers on the staff and proceed from there. Junior left-hander Brad Stone, by far the most experienced pitcher on the staff, will push for a spot in the weekend rotation. He was State's Sunday starter dur- ing the 2013 run to the College World Series, but slipped last season and spent much of the year in the pen. After Stone, sophomores Cory Wilder, Ryan Williamson and Joe O'Donnell, and juniors Jon Olczak, Curt Britt (a trans- fer from South Carolina), Travis Orwig (healthy and throwing well after missing 2014 following elbow surgery) and Will Over the last 26 games of 2014, senior infielder Logan Ratledge batted .340 with five doubles, a home run, 14 RBI and eight steals in nine attempts. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP "We had a very a positive fall. The chemistry of this team, the camaraderie of this team, the hunger of this team, all that seemed very obvious during fall practice." ■ Avent Newcomers To Watch Freshman third baseman Joe Dunand Dunand quickly laid claim to the starting job at third base in the fall with his slick glove work and strong hitting. A .392 hitter with 11 home runs and 33 RBI in 29 games as a senior at Gulliver Prep in Miami in 2014, Dunand made national headlines the summer of 2013 by hitting eight home runs in as many at-bats, and nine homers in 12 at-bats overall, at the Horizon National Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz. The nephew of Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, Dunand has strong bloodlines, knows the game, and so far seems unfazed by the adjustment to college. Freshman right-handed pitcher Evan Mendoza Possibly NC State's best pitcher in the fall, Mendoza won't blow away hitters with his fastball. He will, however, carve them up by changing speeds and pounding both sides of the strike zone with all of his pitches. Smooth and polished, Mendoza throws strikes, requirement No. 1 for a successful pitcher. He won 25 games in a four-year high school career at Sarasota (Fla.) High School, including a combined 14-2 mark with a 0.79 ERA his last two years. Mendoza also is a solid middle infielder and could see some action as a hitter.