Joe O’Donnell and the Shepard brothers try to make their mark at NC State

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — Click the icon above to see our profile on the three NC State baseball players who call Wilmington home: Joe O’Donnell, Chance Shepard and Shane Shepard.

Joe O’Donnell is a Hoggard High graduate. O’Donnell is a sophomore pitcher for the Wolfpack.

The Shepards both graduated from Ashley High School. Shane is a freshman. Chance is a junior.

Former Hoggard High pitcher Joe O’Donnell has been “Mr. Consistency” this season for NC State, but he’s a bit hard to recognize with no hair cut in the last year.

“Everybody said to roll with it, so I just have.”

Out of the bullpen O’Donnell sports a 6-3 record. He’s pitched in 21 games with a 2.17 ERA and he’s struck out 46 batters.
Joe O’Donnell is just one of the reasons NC State has been playing better as of late, but the Wolfpack will likely need to make a late season push to get into the NCAA Tournament later this month. “I am more confident this year,” O’Donnell told WWAY. “Getting to pitch last year in summer ball in Wilmington helped a lot.”

O’Donnell played summer league ball for the Wilmington Sharks in 2014, but he won’t be a Shark this summer. Instead, he’s heading to the Cape Cod League to play for the Harwich Mariners.

Former Ashley Screaming Eagle Shane Shepard is a freshman for NC State. His first collegiate season has been a bit of a struggle. Shane is batting well below the Mendoza line, mainly as a designated hitter, but regardless of how the season plays out for Shane, one of his teammates is older brother, Chance Shepard.

Chance is now a junior at NC State. He too has not seen a whole lot of playing time this season, but the trend appears to be changing, Chance has been splitting time with his younger brother Shane at DH. You can occasionally find Chance behind the plate as well. “I want to be in there, but whatever is gonna help the team win right now is what I have to do, whether I am playing or I am not, I have to find a way to help our team win. Can’t complain much, we’ve been hot lately.” In fact Chance Shepard is the hottest player on the Wolfpack team. Chance has home runs in his last 3 games.