For the second time in the last three years, and the sixth time in 22 years under head coach Elliott Avent, the NC State baseball team will host an NCAA Regional this weekend at Doak Field.
The Wolfpack (40-16) won 40 games this season for the first time since 2013, when it made a run all the way to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. This year’s road to Omaha will run through Raleigh for the Pack, which will welcome Auburn (39-21), Northeastern (36-19) and Army (36-22) to Doak Field.
“We knew after the season we had, having 40 wins in the ACC and winning eight of 10 [ACC] series, we felt like we were in a pretty good spot,” Wolfpack senior outfielder Brock Deatherage said. “We felt good about our chances and we were rewarded for that.”
NC State was named the No. 16 national seed, the final team to get hosting duties. The Wolfpack is one of four ACC teams hosting, and one of three in the state of North Carolina. The winner of the Raleigh Regional will move on to play in the super regionals, against the winner of the Gainesville, Florida Regional, hosted by top overall seed Florida.
Regional play hasn’t been kind to the Wolfpack the last three seasons, as NC State has seen late leads slip away in winner-take-all regional finals three straight years. Two years ago at Doak Field, the Pack squandered a 5-3 ninth-inning lead to eventual national champion Coastal Carolina. However, NC State is one of the most experienced teams in the country and should be able to build on its experience to try and avoid another regional letdown.
“A lot of experience in the regionals,” graduate pitcher Johnny Piedmonte said. “We’ve just got to put that behind us. I think we’ve definitely learned from those experiences.”
Auburn and Northeastern will kick off the regional Friday at 2 p.m., with NC State and Army squaring off at 7 p.m. to cap off the opening day of the double-elimination regional.
Auburn easily could have been named a regional host, finishing seventh in the loaded SEC. Northeastern won the Colonial Athletic Association regular season crown, and earned an at-large bid after falling to UNC-Wilmington in the CAA Tournament final. Army qualified for the NCAA Tournament after winning the Patriot League.
“It’s going to be a good field, but they’re all good fields,” Avent said. “That’s the thing about college baseball right now, one through 64.”
The regional features an abundance of talent, headlined by two Golden Spikes Award semifinalists. NC State left-handed pitcher Brian Brown (6-2, 2.71 ERA) and Auburn righty Casey Mize (9-5, 3.07 ERA) are two of the nation’s premiere pitchers, with Mize likely to be the number one overall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft. Freshman Reid Johnston will throw Friday for the Pack, with Brown likely to go Saturday in a potential game with Auburn. The Tigers haven’t announced their starters yet, but Mize will most likely throw Friday against Northeastern.
Beyond Brown, NC State features a plethora of talented position players in outfielders Deatherage, senior Josh McLain and junior Brett Kinneman, as well as sophomore shortstop Will Wilson and more. As a team, the Pack’s 81 home runs are the fifth-most in the NCAA, led by Kinneman’s 17.
The country’s top two base stealers will also be featured in the regional. Army’s Jacob Hurtubise leads the NCAA with 40 bags swiped, with Northeastern’s Charlie McConnell right behind in second with 37.
The pieces are in place for NC State to break out of its regional rut, with the team playing better start to finish than it has the previous three years. While NC State did finish the season with a series loss to Florida State and an 0-2 outing at the ACC Championships, the Pack has had a week off to heal up and get ready for the regional.
With an explosive offense that at times this season has been one of the best in the country, and a pitching staff bolstered by a top arm in Brown and a shutdown bullpen led by sophomore lefty Kent Klyman (7-2, 2.43 ERA) and redshirt senior Joe O’Donnell (1-3, 0.96 ERA), the Wolfpack is strong enough to make it to a super regional for the first time since its 2013 run to Omaha.
“It’s been a good season. The whole season’s been good,” Avent said. “This team has played good from start to finish. They’ve played very consistent. This is probably the most consistent team we’ve had here in a long time.”
