June 6, 2001

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Three NC State pitchers and one position player were selected this week in the 2001 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, held Tuesday and Wednesday by conference call from the baseball commissioner's office in New York City.

Senior righthander Jason Blanton went to the Chicago Cubs in the 12th round of the draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates took sophomore lefthander Dan D'Amato in the 27th round. The Philadelphia Phillies picked senior righthander Josh Miller in the 32nd round, and then chose senior third baseman Sean Walsh in the 43rd round.

Blanton and Miller, transfers from Brevard (Fla.) Community College, both had standout senior campaigns for the Wolfpack. Blanton finished the season with a 5-1 record and a 4.40 ERA. He made 19 appearances, including 12 starts, and allowed 89 hits, walked 31 and struck out 61 in 75 2/3 innings. He was NC State's top starting pitcher down the stretch, making eight starts in his last nine appearances and going 3-0 with a 3.72 ERA during that time. Blanton shut down Clemson on May 5 at Doak Field, allowing the Tigers just one unearned run on four hits in seven innings, and then made a pair of starts during the Wolfpack's remarkable run to the championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. He defeated Maryland in the play-in game, and then worked 4 2/3 solid innings on three days' rest in NC State's 6-4 win over Georgia Tech in the fourth round of the tournament.

Miller had a most remarkable season for the Pack, overcoming a serious knee injury to anchor the NC State bullpen the last month of the season. Miller finished the year with a 5-4 record with a 2.08 ERA and a team-high six saves. He worked 47 2/3 innings and allowed 44 hits and 10 walks while striking out 34. He limited opponents to a .235 batting average.

Miller tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on March 20 and missed 18 games before returning to action after being fitted with a special brace designed specifically for ACL injuries. At the time of his injury, Miller was 1-2 with a 1.99 ERA. In 12 appearances after tearing the ACL, Miller was 4-2 with two saves and a 2.16 ERA. He got better and better as he got more used to the brace. In his final eight appearances of the season, he was 4-2 with two saves and a 1.04 ERA. In four appearances in the ACC Tournament, he worked 8 2/3 innings, and went 1-1 with two saves and a 1.04 ERA to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

In two seasons at NC State, Miller posted a 10-5 record, recorded eight saves and had a 2.20 ERA in 52 appearances. He faced 365 batters in his career and walked just 11.

D'Amato, a Freshman All-American in 1999, struggled for much of the 2001 season, posting a 5-7 record with a 6.86 ERA. D'Amato has a reputation for pitching his best in big games, however, and he showed why in '01. In two victories over Florida State, D'Amato worked 15 innings and allowed just four runs on 15 hits. He also turned in strong outings against Rutgers and Georgia Tech, both nationally ranked at the time, and held hard-hitting Wake Forest, theeventual ACC champion, to two runs through five innings at Winston-Salem before the Wolfpack defense collapsed behind him in the sixth.

D'Amato went 7-2 with a 5.11 ERA as a freshman, and posted big wins over North Carolina and East Carolina. He pitched well in a losing cause against Auburn in the NCAA Auburn Regional. He went 5-6 with a 5.19 ERA as a sophomore. He again defeated North Carolina, and salvaged the final game of a three-game series with Miami with 6 1/3 strong innings in a 5-4 win over the Hurricanes.

Walsh transfered to NC State this season after playing three seasons at Radford. He batted .328 for the Wolfpack with 14 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 39 RBIs and 19 stolen bases in 23 attempts. Like many Wolfpack players this season, Walsh played his best baseball the second half of the season. In 29 games from April 6 on, he batted .387 (41-for-106) with eight doubles, five home runs, 22 RBIs and 10 steals. In seven games in the ACC Tournament, Walsh hit .385 with two doubles and a homer, scored seven runs and drove in five. He hit safely in six of the seven games and reached base 17 times.