Matt Moore
Sometimes a day makes all the difference in the world. The nine runs that lit up Doak Field’s scoreboard on Tuesday evening were nowhere to be found on Wednesday for the baseball team.
After defeating Marshall 9-5 in the first game of the midweek series, the Wolfpack scored no runs and could only muster one hit on Wednesday in a 3-0 loss to the Thundering Herd.
“Baseball’s a funny game,” coach Elliott Avent said. “The game will give you some good days, and it will give you some days when you have trouble adjusting.”
On Wednesday, the team tried to learn how to adjust to playing as a team. Six Marshall pitchers kept State just off balance most of the afternoon and ended up combining to give up one hit.
“I think right now it’s mental,” junior centerfielder Marcus Jones said of the team’s hitting performance. “Hitting is one of those things that is up and down. We’re just pressing.”
The Pack had opportunities to score runs, but could not capitalize on its chances. In the second inning, State loaded the bases with two outs only to see a chance at runs end with a strikeout.
“We got the bases loaded, and I think everybody thought it would just be another day. But it didn’t happen,” Avent said. “We just never hit the baseball.”
Some of State’s trouble may be attributed to the busy schedule during the last three weeks. The Pack was playing its 14th game in 19 days, a brutal schedule that may have caught up with State on Wednesday.
“If you play enough games, which certainly we’re playing enough right now with five a week, it takes a toll on these guys a little bit,” Avent said.
There will be no rest for the Pack, at least not anytime soon, as State will play at least four games a week for all but one week of the remainder of the regular season.
The adjustments that the Pack need to make will be made in practice sessions day-to-day, not during long breaks in between games.
“We’re just going to work hard and be as focused and concentrated as we can,” Redshirt junior first baseman Pat Ferguson said. “If we play as a team, we should be OK.”
Avent echoed those sentiments, knowing State has work to do, but he also said the recent struggles are not all technique.
“A lot of times [hitting] comes down to a mindset,” he said.
Jones also knows the importance of a successful mindset, especially when the entire team is struggling.
“There are not a lot of corrections that need to be made — it’s just an attitude,” he said. “Once you just get back to the small things and believe in yourself and trust that [hitting] will come, then it will.”
The opportunity for the Pack to reverse its hitting fortunes will come soon, with a weekend series against North Carolina starting Friday in Cary.
“You’re not going to put this one behind you in a couple hours,” Avent said of Wednesday’s loss. “But you’re going to have to find a way to put it behind you pretty soon because in less than 48 hours we’re going to play a series that’s big to a lot of people, including us.”