Spring break is fast approaching and it time to step back and look at some of the teams of the N.C. State Athletic Department in its current state.
Baseball
The season opener Feb. 15 versus Appalachian State had an opening day-record 2,396 fans and an atmosphere that would make most minor league teams envious. Alas, the record was bittersweet as sophomore pitcher Carlos Rodon suffered his first collegiate loss when the Pack fell 6-3. Rodon pitched six innings in his season debut and gave up five earned runs.
Rodon did redeem himself eight days later, when he combined with freshman hurler Karl Keglovits to no-hit the La Salle Explorers 5-0. It was the first no-hitter for State in almost eight years. The Wolfpack are currently ranked No. 10 in the country.
The two contrasting performances from Rodon came after a myriad of delayed and cancelled games due to inclement weather. The snazzy 2013 team poster, complete with the team schedule on the bottom, has been rendered almost obsolete because of the ever-changing fixtures.
Softball
Unlike baseball, the schedule makers for the softball team may actually have Mother Nature figured out. The Pack played its first three tournaments of the season in Florida and Georgia.
N.C. State has started the campaign 7-5-1, which is to be expected. The transition under first-year head coach Shawn Rychcik will have its ups and downs. The measure of the program’s growth could come soon.
State plays its home opener on Friday versus Stony Brook in the N.C. State Wolfpack Challenge. The next nine games are in Raleigh, and it will be interesting to see where the Pack is standing record-wise in the middle of March.
Football
The spring game will be here soon, and the 2013 schedule was released Monday. N.C. State plays eight home games and is in the state of North Carolina for all but two games next season under new head coach Dave Doeren.
The two games not in Carter-Finley Stadium but still within the state are at Wake Forest and Duke. With manageable driving distances from Raleigh, it is not unreasonable to expect there to be as many State fans in the stands as the home team when the Pack travels to Winston-Salem and Durham. The N.C. State football schedule appears very friendly on paper.
Men’s Basketball
The Pack is entering the final stretch of regular season play. The loss in Chapel Hill has taken away some control N.C. State had in its own destiny with regards to finishing in the top-four of the ACC. Duke plays at UVa and hosts Miami this week, with a season finale looming at North Carolina. The Blue Devils are one team who will help determine where State finishes in the standings.
If State can finish in at least fourth place, a tournament title is not out of the question. The Pack will certainly fancy its chances in a rematch against Miami or Virginia (with Lorenzo Brown) and probably yearns for another chance to tangle with the Tar Heels. The tournament is in Greensboro, which is a benefit to State.
Women’s Basketball
N.C. State has its Senior Day game Thursday versus Virginia, and it is a chance for the Wolfpack faithful to pay their respects to Marissa Kastanek. There may be a metamorphosis occurring with the program, but unfortunately its hardest worker will not quite get to reap all of the rewards.
Kastanek represents everything N.C. State should be about. She honored her commitment to State through a coaching change and has consistently held up her end of the deal over her four seasons in Raleigh.
State should now hold up its end. The school should never let another women’s basketball player wear the number 23 and give Kastanek her proper due by retiring it permanently.
Statistically speaking, there may be others with better numbers, but Kastanek’s perfect 4.00 GPA trumps them all. She is one of the greatest Wolfpack student-athletes ever.
