NC State ready to open season with weekend series vs. VCU

No. 13 NC State coach Elliott Avent began his college education in Raleigh, but he left school early to begin his baseball coaching career just a handful of credits short of his degree in the early 1980s.

Avent went to North Carolina Wesleyan for two seasons as an assistant before he joined the staff at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He finished his college degree at VCU, and was on the Rams’ staff for the first meeting between the Rams and Wolfpack on the diamond, which was an 8-1 NC State win in 1983. 

The two teams have met 28 other times since that March day that pitted a young Avent against the team that he now coaches, and the 30th meeting will come this weekend to open the 2024 season.

It has been nearly 21 years since an Avent-led NC State squad played VCU, which came in the 2003 NCAA Tournament regional — a 4-3 win for the Wolfpack. Now the red and white will host the Rams for a three-game set at Doak Field at Dail Park, beginning on Friday at 3 p.m.

Avent, a VCU graduate, said the Rams will provide an early-season test for the Wolfpack — maybe one that he would not usually schedule at this point in the season. 

“That’s a place I coached at early in my career, very dear to me,” Avent told TheWolfpacker.com earlier this year. “They’ve got a great program — with our schedule being so demanding with the people we play in this state from East Carolina to Wilmington — we don’t typically open up with a team that’s that competitive, that good early on. But we’ve got a great relationship with them.”

VCU is led by senior third baseman Brandon Eike, a returning first team All-Atlantic 10 selection from last spring. D1 Baseball named Eike the 10th-best third baseman in the nation and the A-10 Player of the Year this preseason. He hit .346 with 24 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 71 RBI last spring in his first season with the Rams. 

While Eike paces the Rams at the plate, VCU has a new-look pitching staff in Bradley LeCroy’s second season at the helm after he departed Clemson as an assistant coach. The black and gold have 14 new pitchers on the roster this spring, including High Point transfer Everett Vaughan, who will be the team’s Friday starter. 

Though the Rams have a reloaded roster coming into the 2024 season, so does NC State. The Wolfpack boasts 19 new faces on its squad, including a healthy contingent of freshmen, which was the No. 5 class in college baseball. 

The Wolfpack roster features 13 true freshmen on the opening day roster, and left-handed pitcher Ryan Marohn will start on the bump to close the series Sunday afternoon. This marks the second straight season a true freshman pitcher made his NC State debut on opening weekend as lefty Dom Fritton did last season. The now-sophomore will start on Saturday, while graduate right-handed pitcher Sam Highfill will open the season as the team’s Friday starter. 

With a new-look starting rotation, Avent is in search of his 1,000th career win, which he is currently two victories shy of. But the 28th-year coach knows that his team needs to be ready to go against the Rams, which won the 2022 Atlantic 10 tournament title.

“I just thought it was a very tough opening weekend, so we’ll see how that turns out,” Avent said. “I know that we better be totally ready. Sometimes you’re not totally ready for your first weekend, but we’ll have to be extremely ready.”

Broadcast details 

TV: ACCN Extra

Radio: WKNC 88.1

Talent: Andrew Sanders & Tony Haynes

First pitch: Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Projected starting pitchers

Friday – RHP Sam Highfill (NCSU) vs. RHP Everett Vaughan (VCU)

Saturday – LHP Dominic Fritton (NCSU) vs. RHP Christian Gordon (VCU)

Sunday – LHP Ryan Marohn (NCSU) vs. RHP Zachary Peters (VCU)