Ground balls. Pop flies. Batting practice. Such are the things that make up the daily routine at Doak Field.

With the Wolfpack near the midpoint of an ACC season that has produced an 8-4 conference record, they are closing in on their third consecutive month of practice.

Spending so many hours at the ballfield can cause certain activities to become somewhat monotonous, according to sophomore Ryan Pond, but Pond said that is precisely what players have to guard against.

“It can be a little boring at times,” Pond said. “You just can’t let it happen because this is the most important part of the season.”

With State thus far in contention for a coveted conference championship, some players said they view the practice sessions as an integral part of improving their own skills as well as solidifying the team concept.

“We just try to get one percent better every day,” Diaz said. “If you can do that then over the course of 20 days you’re going to be 20 percent better.”

Pond said it’s hard to find any one player that works harder than another on the State practice field, but that certain players tend to separate themselves from the rest.

“There’s two guys, actually, Matt Camp and Jonathan Diaz,” Pond said. “Diaz is always taking balls off the fungo, and Camp’s always running around in the outfield having fun, but getting to every ball he can.”

Diaz has anchored the middle infield, garnering an on-base percentage of .406 while only striking out 10 times and leading the team in stolen bases. Still, Diaz said the most effort given in practice comes from the team’s center fielder instead of its shortstop.

“On this team we’ve got a lot of guys that really work hard, but I think Matt Camp definitely sticks out,” Diaz said.

Camp is batting .372 and is tied for the team lead in doubles with 11. With so many ACC games still to be played, Pond said State is trying to have as much fun as possible without losing sight of its ultimate goals.

“We have to stay loose, but we also have to know that these practices are probably the most important practices of the year,” Pond said.

Even though the Pack’s hard work has yielded results, coach Elliott Avent said there are always bumps in the road and that the most important thing to look for in his team is constant improvement.

“There’s definitely frustration in athletics,” Avent said. “You’ve just got to know that you’re doing the day-to-day things to get better.”