Another chapter in the storied rivalry between East Carolina and N.C. State will be composed tonight as the Pirates meet the Pack for a 7 p.m. matchup. For NCSU head coach Elliot Avent, the fierceness of the rivalry really comes down to one thing.
“This rivalry’s so great, because both teams in it are consistently very good,” Avent said. “You can’t have a rivalry without the two teams in it being really good.”
While the competitive play is a big part of the two schools’ rivalry, their proximity adds fuel to the friction. With only 80 miles of North Carolina countryside separating ECU (17-9) and State (21-8), Avent said he expects that many Pirate fans will be scattered throughout the Doak Field stands.
“Another reason this rivalry is so great is because of the fans,” Avent said. “Both teams have great fans who love the game of baseball.”
ECU is somewhat notorious for their taunting fan base — even on the road. Senior pitcher Jason Duncan, who will get the start today, said the rowdy Pirate fans cause the Doak Field environment to take on different feel.
While Duncan admitted he hears the gibes and jabs thrown by the ECU attendees, he insisted hearing them isn’t a bad thing.
“I actually feed off of the hecklers,” Duncan said. “It gives me some more adrenaline out there, and makes me want to pitch my very best.”
While the opposing fans might cause some distraction, team members said they have bigger things to focus on — most notably, ending their four-game losing streak.
After taking two of three games from No. 1 Georgia Tech two weeks ago, State was swept by Clemson this past weekend and dropped out of three of the five major baseball polls.
Senior centerfielder Matt Camp said the team is anxious to get the three losses at Clemson off of its back. He said the team is making an effort to play with more emotion from this point on in the season. “We’ve just got to play hard all the time, and go hard in every situation,” Camp said. “Sometimes, when things have started going bad this season, we get down on ourselves, and we can’t afford to do that.”
But the Pack still has the big bats going for them, led by junior Aaron Bates and sophomore Matt Mangini. State leads the conference in batting average (.352), hits (370), and runs scored (284). In an online chat, Will Kimmey of Baseball America recently said State’s offense might be the best unit in the country.
Avent hopes his powerful offense is enough to overtake a solid ECU pitching staff. He cited pitching and defense to be the Pirate’s strengths. With those two strengths combined with the emotion that ECU is likely to bring to Raleigh, Avent said his team will have to be at their best to pull out a win.
“East Carolina’s going to come in here like it’s the biggest game of the season,” Avent said. “They’re going to come in here with a lot of emotion, and if they channel all of that emotion into playing well, then we’re going to have a battle on our hands.”
The game will be the first of three midweek matchups between the Pirates and the Pack this season. State leads the all-time series 56-35, and took three of four games from the Pirates last season.
