July 11, 2006

RALEIGH, N.C. - Looking to get a leg up on a starting spot in NC State's outfield in 2007, rising sophomore Marcus Jones used a big first half with the Thunder Bay Border Cats to earn a spot in the Northwoods League All-Star Game, to be played July 12 at La Cross, Wisc.

Through games of July 10, Jones was batting .315 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs and 17 RBIs. He had drawn 17 walk. Jones led Thunder Bay with a .420 on-base percentage and had a .424 slugging percentage, second on the team. Thunder Bay, which won the NWL's first-half championship and was 21-13 heading into the break, had a league-best six players selected to the all-star game.

Jones, a freshman outfielder for NC State in 2006, saw limited action this past spring, batting .289 with two doubles and a triple in 35 games. He made six starts.

Summer notes: Wolfpack righthander Eryk McConnell has enjoyed a strong summer with Madison in the Northwoods League, but was not chosen for the all-star game. McConnell was 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA in four games, three of them starts. He had allowed 223 hits and six walks in 21 innings while striking out 20.

Cape Cod Capers: Two NC State players were off to solid summers on the mound at Orlenas in the Cape Cod League. Ryan Pond, a righthander who also plays first base and the outfield, was 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA. He had worked 24 2/3 innings, allowed 16 hits while walking six and fanning 15. Lefthander Eric Surkamp, Pond's Orleans teammate was 2-1 with a 2.66 ERA. He had made four appearances, all starts, and had allowed 11 hits in 20 1/3 innings. Surkamp had walked 13 and struck out 18.

Righthander Andrew Brackman joined Orleans the first week of July after spending two months rehabbing from ma stress fracture in his left hip that had bothered him at least since March. In his first three appearances, all out of the bullpen, Brackman had allowed no runs and two hits. He had walked four and struck out three. According to The Cape Cod Times, Brackman hit 99 on the radar gun several times in his first appearance with the Cardinals.

One other Cape Cod item worth noting, righthander Jeff Stallings left Brewster after three appearances. Stallings, coming off a year's rehab from Tommy John surgery, parted ways with the Whitecaps because of a disagreement with the coaching staff over how frequently he should pitch because of the surgery. He has returned to campus and was working out at Doak Field.

Gastonia Trio: Closer to home, the Wolfpack has six players in the Coastal Plain League, three of them in Gastonia. Chris Engle and Matt Payne are doing two-way duty, playing the outfield and pitching, while Reggie Dixon is a full-time outfielder with the Grizzlies.

Dixon, who had just four at-bats in five games for NC State in the spring, was hitting .247 with a pair of doubles, a home run, eight RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 16 appearances. Dixon was fourth in the league in steals.

Engle, in his second summer in Gastonia, was hitting .244 with three doubles and 10 RBIs. He had stolen five bases in eight attempts. On the mound, Engle was 1-0 in three scoreless relief appearances.

Payne was hitting .243 with five doubles and seven RBIs. He was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three appearances, including one start.