June 13, 2001

Former NC State baseball star Andy Barkett, who was called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates in late May, has been making the most of his opportunity to play in the big leagues.

In 11 games with the Bucs, Barkett is hitting .313 with one homer. Back on the 9th of June, the outfielder/first baseman went 3-for-4 in a game against Minnesota. He came back with two more hits in Pittsburgh's 13-3 rout of Detroit on June 12.

Barkett, who played at NC State from 1992-95, was picked up by the Pirates during the off-season after finishing the 2000 campaign with Atlanta's triple-A affiliate in Richmond.