Gino Groover puts NC State up early with first-inning home run against Campbell
Gino Groover did not wait very long for things to get started for NC State.
In the Columbia Regional against Campbell, Groover lit up a ball out of the left side of the park while facing a 3-1 count. It took just eight pitches for him to get the Wolfpack on the board as the homer was his 12th of the season.
The home run was just the third that Campbell RHP Cade Kuehler had given up during the whole season. Afterward, the Camels were able to get out of the top of the first with the two remaining outs that they needed.
Still, Groover did his damage early and emphatically. Now we’ll have to see how both teams respond to the early score now that the field has been flipped for the bottom of the first inside Founders Park.
Elliott Avent excited to lead NC State back to NCAA Regional
On Thursday, as long-time NC State baseball coach Elliott Avent was walking to the media room for a press conference with redshirt junior pitcher Sam Highfill and junior third baseman LuJames “Gino” Groover III, a sense of excitement overcame Avent. After an unexpected year’s absence, his team is back in the NCAA Championship.
“This never gets old,” Avent recalled telling Highfill and Groover. “I don’t care how many times you’ve been. It’s exciting.”
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NC State baseball is the No. 3 seed in a regional hosted by top-seeded South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. Game one for the Pack will be 1 p.m. Friday against second-seeded Campbell. The Gamecocks and fourth-seeded Central Connecticut State have a scheduled 7 p.m. first pitch.
The winners meet Saturday evening, while the losers face each other earlier in the day at noon in an elimination game.
NC State starting the regional against Campbell is a bit of irony. The two did not meet during the regular season, which is atypical for Avent.
“We played them every year it seems like since I’ve been here for 27 years,” Avent noted. “We missed each other this year with a scheduling conflict we couldn’t figure out…(But) we try to stay in North Carolina as much as we can.”