The N.C. State baseball team will travel to Myrtle Beach, S.C. today to participate in the annual Baseball at the Beach showcase.  The Wolfpack will be joined by a strong field of competitors, including No. 6 UC Irvine, No. 12 Coastal Carolina and James Madison.

“UC Irvine, Coastal Carolina and James Madison — that sounds like a regional to me,” coach Elliott Avent said.  “We’re excited to get on the road though.  We have not done that yet this season so it will be a good experience, especially for the younger guys.”

Senior Dallas Poulk, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, hopes he can continue his hot start to the season as the Pack play its first road games of the year this weekend.

“We always like winning in front of our home crowd,” Polk said. “But it’s a way different thing to win on the road.”

State (4-0) kicks off the tournament by taking on UC Irvine (3-0) today at noon.  The Anteaters won all three games this past weekend in their series against Loyola Marymount and are led by preseason All-American pitcher Daniel Bibona.

The Pack then takes on James Madison (0-0) Saturday at 1 p.m. The Dukes will be stepping onto the baseball diamond for the first time this year when they take part in the annual event.

In the tournament finale on Sunday, the Wolfpack collide with host Coastal Carolina (3-1).  Jake Buchanan is expected to take the mound against the Chanticleers.  Buchanan has been strong early on this season, allowing only one run and three hits in eight and two-thirds innings.

Buchanan is one of many State players off to a promising start.  Sophomore Andrew Ciencin drove in the game-winning run against Campbell on Tuesday night and has 11 hits in 18 at-bats along with 12 RBIs so far this year.

Freshman Matt Bergquist has also stepped up despite playing in his first year of college baseball.  Bergquist has eight hits in 16 at-bats and provided great defense at shortstop.

Wolfpack players are looking forward to the tournament and see it as a way to improve as a team. 

“It’s going to be tough out there,” senior center fielder Kyle Wilson said.  “If we stay true to what we’re doing though, we’ll see some success this weekend.”

A good showing in this weekend’s tournament against very formidable opponents will go a long way in preparing the Wolfpack for the challenges that lie ahead in the always competitive Atlantic Coast Conference.

“We just want to keep playing good competition and keep getting better,” Avent said.  “Hopefully we’ll have some good weather down there too.”