The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/947448
60 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER J ohnny Piedmonte was finishing up a round of golf in Florida last summer with former teammate Cory Wilder when he received the phone call from NC State base- ball coach Elliott Avent: The NCAA had approved the school's request for a rare sixth year of eligibility for the lanky, 6-8 right- hander who has suffered through multiple injuries during his high school and college days. "I was ecstatic when I got the call," Pied- monte said. "I was in the situation where I was worrying about what I was going to do and this gave me another chance to play a last college season." Piedmonte's first thought, though, was not about himself or even the team. It was about his younger brother David and the family that had supported his baseball dreams for so long. Really, everything in Piedmonte's life is about David, who is two years younger and has been physically challenged his entire life with Down syndrome. "That's one of the reasons I am still doing this," said the native of Davidson, N.C., and a 2012 graduate of Hough High School. "I see his daily struggles in life. I always tell myself that I want to do what he can't do. I want to push my body, as long as my body is still able to do what I need it to, to do what he can't do. "He loves coming to baseball games, so I want to give him that joy a little longer, as long as I can." In some ways, Piedmonte has always played baseball because David couldn't, Motivated To Pitch Johnny Piedmonte Did Not Let Severe Elbow And Back Injuries Keep Him Off The Mound Piedmonte, who received a rare sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA, posted a team-best 7-0 record with a stellar 2.77 ERA as a fifth-year junior in 2017 and won his first two starts this season. PHOTO BY JAMES GUILLORY/NC STATE ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS