At NC State baseball media availability at Doak Field, it’s easy to spot the first player to wander over to the assembled reporters. It’s easy to tell by the way his 6-foot-8 height towers over everyone else there that he’s a pitcher. And it’s clear by the way he carries himself, his comfort and familiarity that he’s been doing this for a few years.
Both assumptions would be correct. The player, of course, is NC State redshirt senior starting pitcher Johnny Piedmonte, returning for his sixth year of college baseball after being granted eligibility by the NCAA after last season. Six years is a long time to play any college sport, particularly one as demanding as baseball. For Piedmonte, however, returning to the game and team he loves for one more year was an easy decision.
“It’s meant a lot to me,” Piedmonte said. “It’ll definitely be the best years of my life growing up; I think that’s a big reason why I decided to come back for that sixth year. I know looking back I would regret not playing baseball as long as I can. It’s definitely going to be one of those things that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Piedmonte’s not the only one excited to see himself back on the mound for NC State this year. Head coach Elliott Avent was quick to express his gratitude that he’ll have his top arm back for 2018.
“Johnny, he’s just tough,” Avent said. “I’m not excited yet about opening up, but I am excited about Johnny Piedmonte. He’s just such a good person. He’s a good person; he epitomizes, I think, everything that I think this program stands for. Great team leader, great individual. He always gives everything he’s got. He’s gone through some ups and downs with injuries in his career, and he just always tries to do the best he can. I’m really excited about him being back.”
Also helping Piedmonte’s decision was the outstanding season he had last year for the Pack. As a redshirt junior, Piedmonte utilized his arsenal of pitches, mostly a devastating cutter to left-handed batters, but also a strong fastball command and slider down and away to righties, to break out as the staff ace and lead the team to its third straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Piedmonte posted a 7-0 record with a 2.77 ERA and 42 strikeouts over 61.2 innings pitched in nine starts last year. Though he’s certainly a very talented pitcher, Piedmonte, being the humble person and team leader that he is, was quick to credit his teammates for his breakthrough season.
“Last year I started off kind of rough,” Piedmonte said. “I think kind of some experience helped me out last year after that rougher start. I took a little time off and then just health helped me out the rest of the year. I had a good defense behind me. I was actually looking at it the other day, and I didn’t have many punch outs. A lot of outs in the field, great defense behind me. That carried me through the season.”
Finally being healthy would also be a large credit to Piedmonte’s 2017 surge. It certainly has not been a smooth road to get to this point in his career. Piedmonte redshirted his freshman year due to lingering effects of Tommy John surgery after his junior season at William A. Hough high school in Davidson, North Carolina, and was forced to watch his teammates in the College World Series on TV. He then missed his sophomore year due to lingering effects of a 2013 car accident.
Piedmonte, however, powered through, and with the help of NC State baseball’s staff, recovered from his injuries to become a dominant pitcher for the Pack. Having to work through everything he did to get there has given Piedmonte an even greater appreciation for his success.
“We have a great staff, great athletic training staff,” Piedmonte said. “Gabe Button does a great job with strength. Throughout the last three years, they’ve kind of worked with me to find out what best works for me and that kind of broke me through it. The gratification of doing well, I think it kind of helps me feel good, helps them feel good that they got me to that point.”
If there’s anyone who knows about the ups and downs of the game of baseball, it’s Avent. The Wolfpack’s skipper, a veteran of 21 seasons, nearly 2,000 games and 1,000 wins as the team’s head coach, knows how difficult something like injuries can make an already challenging game. He’s watched his ace push through those challenges to become the person he is today.
“He was a solid person when he got here,” Avent said. “I guess the way he handles adversity, more than anything. Baseball’s a failure sport; there’s a lot of things you have to overcome. The things he’s had to overcome in his career would, I think, set most people back. He just keeps moving forward and getting better. His attitude, I think he sets a bar that everybody should look at.”
Going through everything he has has also taught Piedmonte just how much it takes to succeed at one of the highest levels baseball has to offer.
“I came in here just kind of young and I guess, reckless, just throwing the ball,” Piedmonte said. “Throughout the years you get experience. I think the biggest thing that’s changed is my body, obviously, but my mind. Just mentally knowing it’s a long season and it’s definitely a grind. The game’s long. Baseball’s a very long sport. Just take each inning as it is and kind of work through that.”
NC State will be leaning on that experience from Piedmonte this year as a team with high expectations for itself looks to hit a level of success it hasn’t for many years, and push past the regional round for the first time since a pair of future MLBers in pitcher Carlos Rodon and shortstop Trea Turner led the Wolfpack to the College World Series.
While the Pack returns seven seniors, none brings perhaps as much experience both in baseball and in life as Piedmonte. He’s ready to show his teammates what it takes to win and get the Wolfpack where it wants to be.
“A lot of the guys call me Grandpa, so I guess they look up to me a little bit because of my age,” Piedmonte said. “I try to be just like this them. Try to have as much fun as they do on the field, joke around, but when it gets serious, when you need to be serious, I can do that. I just try to be kind of a mentor to some of the younger guys, just show them the right way to do it.”
Piedmonte’s teammates definitely appreciate what he brings to the table, and try to learn everything they can from the veteran hurler.
“It’s huge,” sophomore infielder Will Wilson said. “Coach looks at him like he’s equal to him almost. Definitely just getting out there and learning stuff from Johnny, it’s like he’s coaching us.”
For a college baseball team, getting to the College World Series is no easy task. You need production throughout your lineup, strong pitching and most of all, mental fortitude. Having Johnny Piedmonte leading its rotation goes a long way towards providing NC State with those final two ingredients.
