NC State Wolfpack

15  Matt Payne
	Class: Junior Hometown: Hiddenite, N.C. High School: Alexander Central High School Height / Weight: 6-2 / 197 Position: RHP / INF Birthdate: 03/18/1986 B/T: R/R

As a freshman (2005): Had a strong overall season for the Wolfpack, pitching valuable innings in long and middle relief ... Pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning February 5 vs. Delaware State ... Closed the San Diego State game February 20 with a scoreless ninth inning ... Worked three shutout innings March 9 at UNC Wilmington, allowing two hits and earning his first collegiate save ... Earned the win March 26 vs. Lehigh, allowing just one run on two hits in 2 1/3 innings ... Struck out two in an inning of scoreless relief March 30 against Elon ... Earned the win April 2 against Virginia Tech with one inning of relief ... Threw two hitless, scoresss innings of relief May 15 at Duke ... Worked 4 1/3 innings May 21 vs. Florida State after play was suspended because of rain the night before ... Struck out two Seminoles and allowed just one earned run.

High school: A first-team all-state performer and conference player of the year as a senior in 2004 ... Helped lead Alexander Central to a 26-2 record and a berth in the state 4-A semifinals ... Went 9-1 with a 1.12 ERA in 11 games, 10 of them starts ... Allowed 34 hits, walked 16 and fanned 96 in 62 1/3 innings ... Went 5-0 with a 0.82 ERA in conference games ... Walked 10 and struck out 54 in 34 1/3 innings vs. conference opponents ... Batted .383 with four doubles, two triples, a school-record 12 home runs and 32 RBIs ... Had a .490 on-base percentage and a .926 slugging percentage ... Earned all-conference honors in the Northwestern 4-A Conference as an infielder and as a pitcher, and was named conference player of the year ... Pitched in the Senior East-West Series at the State Games of North Carolina, and played in the North-South All-Star Game between the top seniors from North Carolina and South Carolina ... Ranked the No. 8 prospect in the state by Baseball America and Perfect Game USA ... Went 7-1 with a save and a 1.22 ERA as a junior in 2003 ... Struck out 80 and walked 23 in 51 2/3 innings pitched ... Allowed 21 hits ... Went 5-1 in conference play ... Batted .403 with one homer and 14 RBIs as an infielder when he wasn't pitching ... Was a first-team all-conference selection ... Helped lead Alexander Central to an 18-7 overall record and an 8-4 overall mark ... Attended the 2003 Impact Baseball Showcase at Chapel Hill and played for Region 7 in the State Games of North Carolina.

Personal: Enrolled in the First-Year College ... Born March 18, 1986.