July 1, 2003

By Tony Haynes

It's a long way from Raleigh to Eugene, Oregon. A long, long way. Just ask former NC State catcher Colt Morton, who was assigned to the Class A Eugene Emeralds after signing with the San Diego Padres last week. No longer facing the likes of the Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and North Carolina Tar Heels, Morton is now battling teams like the Yakima Bears, Boise Hawks and Everett Aquasox. It is a new world, indeed.

But even after traveling a couple of thousand miles across three times zones, familiar faces always seem to pop up-especially in the minor leagues. It seems just like a month ago that Morton and Joe Gaetti were hitting next to each other in the same line-up. It seems that way because it was just a month ago that those two players were helping NC State advance to an NCAA Super Regional for the first time in school history.

And although they now play for separate teams on a different coast, Morton and Gaetti will run into each other again when their respective Northwest League teams cross paths later this season. Actually, they just missed each other last week when Gaetti's Tri-City Dust Devils faced Eugene in a series that ended just two days before Morton joined the Emeralds.

Having just arrived in Eugene, Morton has played in one game, going 0-1 with three walks and a run scored. Still making the transition from aluminum bats to wood, Gaetti has just two hits in 27 at bats. Former Wolfpack third baseman Jeremy Dutton has also made his way to the Northwest League, where he has gone 7-of-35 for the Aquasox.

As their baseball summer in the great Northwest continues, Morton, Gaetti and Dutton will also encounter former ACC rivals like Sean Ferrell and Jeremy Cleveland of North Carolina. Over the weekend, Morton watched Jamie D'Antona do the same type of things he did for three years at Wake Forest. Now a rookie with Yakima, the former Deacons shortstop blasted homers on Saturday and Sunday to lead his team to a pair of victories over the Emeralds.

Back on the East Coast, Chad Orvella made a stunning debut with the Class A Hudson Valley Renegades when he struck out five men in two innings of hitless relief work. A full-time shortstop at NC State the last two years, Orvella was signed as a pitcher by the Devil Rays Organization.

Like Orvella, ex-Pack slugger Justin Riley landed in the New York Penn League after being drafted by the Phillies. Riley, who is now listed as a catcher for an outfit called the Batavia Muckdogs, has gone 3-for-11 in four games.