A powerful offense is nice. A flawless fielding defense is great. A deep starting pitching staff is essential.

But according to sophomore relief pitcher Clayton Shunick, a stable bullpen might be the most important piece to a successful college baseball team.

“No lead is safe in college baseball with the aluminum bats,” Shunick said. “You can have a three-run lead and it’s gone like that. Once your starting pitcher comes out after six or seven innings, you need some setup and middle relief guys there to get you to your closer.”

Depth and diversity

Pitching coach Chris Roberts — now in his fourth year on the job — has coached the likes of Chad Orvella (Tampa Bay Devil Rays), Joey Devine (Atlanta Braves) and Sam Walls (Philadelphia Phillies). All three were taken in the top 10 rounds of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, and all three pitched out of the bullpen.

But despite the talent on previous staffs, Roberts ranks this year’s group right at the top.

“This bullpen is as good as any we’ve had since I’ve been here,” he said.

Part of the reason for his confidence in the group is the difference in pitching style that each bring to the mound. There are lefties, righties, guys that throw hard, guys that don’t throw hard and even a guy who can throw submarine style.

“We’ve got some good contrast in the bullpen,” Roberts said. “We should be able to match-up with any opponent.”

In the setup role, redshirt sophomore right-hander Kyle Rutter expects to handle a lot of seventh- and eighth-inning work. Rutter, who appeared in 19 games last season and finished with a 2.18 ERA, throws two pitches — a fastball and a slider — but throws them from two different arm angles. He can throw both from over-the-top or down to the side.

Shunick, a transfer from Georgia State, will also be on the mound in the middle innings. He is also a right-handed pitcher and throws four pitches — fastball, slider, split-finger and changeup. But he relies mostly on his changeup to get people out.

“I’ve been throwing my changeup real heavily since I was 13,” Shunick said. “I’m comfortable with it in any count.”

At Georgia State, Shunick was a starter and lead the staff there in innings pitched in 2006. In fact, his only experience out of the bullpen came this summer in the Cape Cod League in Massachusetts.

One of the two lefties who will pitch primarily out of the pen is sophomore Andrew Taylor. Taylor pitched just nine innings last year and allowed 11 runs, finishing the season with a dreadful 9.64 ERA.

But according to Roberts, Shunick has been impressive this spring.

“He’s ironed some things out,” Roberts said. “Now he can [throw] up to 87, 88 and 89 miles-per-hour from that left-hand side. And you just don’t see that a lot in college baseball.”

Junior Joel Brookens and redshirt sophomore Joey Cutler return from last year’s staff and also figure to see some action in middle-relief this year.

The closer

Last year Sam Walls saved eight games, which ranks eighth all-time at N.C. State in a single season. But when the Philadelphia Phillies drafted Walls in the 10th round, it left a void in the bullpen that needed to be filled.

Enter redshirt junior right-hander Eryk McConnell.

“We asked ourselves, ‘if we were one out from going to the College World Series, who would you like to have?'” Roberts said. “And Eryk’s name just kept coming up. It was an easy decision.”

McConnell, who was a mainstay in this past year’s starting rotation, has never been a relief pitcher at any level of baseball — much less a closer. But despite his inexperience with the role, McConnell is excited and confident about the position switch.

“So far I’m loving it. I’m having no objections,” McConnell said. “We needed a closer, and if the coaches feel I’m the best guy for the job, then I’m here to do it.”

Style-wise, McConnell has all the tools to be closer. He throws a slider, a changeup and a fastball, but relies mostly on his splitter and describes himself as having “some pretty good stuff.”

But mentally he considers himself a different breed than the stereotypical closer.

“A lot of guys — when you think of closers — come into the game real pumped and screaming,” McConnell said. “But me, I’m just relaxed. I go out there to have fun. I might be joking around or even listening to the fans sometimes. Listening to them relaxes me and keeps me calm. And when I’m calm I can hit my spots, and that’s when I pitch my best.”

Despite his laid-back nature, Roberts sees a competitiveness and relentlessness in McConnell that closers must have to be successful.

“That job is about wanting the ball when the game is on the line,” Roberts said. “And he’s one of the toughest competitors we have. He’ll be able to rebound if he has a poor outing. He won’t let that affect him. He’ll be right back out there.”

McConnell — despite his confidence in his own ability — has leaned on Walls, who has been around some this preseason, for advice. But as far as feeling added pressure to be the next great Wolfpack closer, he’s not feeling it.

“If there’s any pressure on me now, it’s to do well for the guys on this team,” McConnell said. “That was the past. Joey was great and Sam was phenomenal, but they’ve moved on. I’m certainly going to try and do what they did, but I don’t really feel any pressure to do it.”