The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/535299
JULY 2015 ■ 131 Shepard's two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning. With the season finally over and in the books, Brown's final numbers are superb. He posted a 7-3 record and a 2.03 ERA, fourth best in the ACC. He pitched a team- high 79 2 ⁄3 innings, struck out 78 — one shy of Cory Wilder's team-best 79 — walked just 26 and held opposing hitters to a .211 batting average. He allowed more than two earned runs in an outing just twice. In nine starts against teams that played in NCAA regionals, he was 3-3 with a 2.06 ERA, allowing 33 hits, striking out 52 and walking 17 in 48 in- nings. In his final three starts — at home versus No. 2 Louisville to end the regular season, versus No. 20 Notre Dame in the ACC Championship and at No. 4 TCU in the Fort Worth Regional — he was 1-0 with a 2.04 ERA, striking out 25 in 17 2 ⁄3 innings. NC State won all three of those games. Not surprisingly, Brown was named a first-team Freshman All-American by both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the American Baseball Coaches Association. "It's definitely an honor," Brown said. "I worked hard all year, so it's nice to be rec- ognized, but I couldn't have done it without my teammates." Brown's early season adjustment with his fastball speaks volumes about his strengths as a pitcher. His game is not power. What happens from the neck up is every bit as important with him as what happens from the neck down. Instead of blowing hitters away, he turns the game into a chess match, moving the ball in and out, changing speeds, making adjustments, deceiving the hitter and pounding the strike zone. "I don't throw super hard so I have to outsmart the hitters," Brown said. "Even when the hitter guesses what pitch is com- ing, I try to put it in a spot he's not expect- ing, keep him off-balance. I also try to throw my changeup and slider in fastball counts every so often. That helps keep them honest." "Brian's a great student of the game," head coach Elliott Avent said. "He under- stands situations so well, understands [ball- strike] counts and how a changing count from pitch to pitch can affect the way he needs to attack a hitter. "He knows how to make adjustments, both during a game and from game to game. He just studies the game so hard and really has a feel for it. "He's also a great teammate. We have the starting pitchers chart pitches the day before they pitch. It's not a particularly enjoyable job, and he probably keeps the best charts of any pitcher I've ever had. The detail is tremendous. "And when he's not pitching he's a great cheerleader in the dugout. He wants to win so badly, and not just when he's pitching. He roots so hard for his teammates, and they appreciate that about him." After reconsidering an early commit- ment to Duke his sophomore year in high school, Brown came to NC State with glit- "He knows how to make adjustments, both during a game and from game to game. He just studies the game so hard and really has a feel for it." ■ Head coach Elliott Avent