NC State turns the page towards NCAA regional after early ACC Tournament exit
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Shortly after NC State fell to Duke in its final game of pool play at the ACC Tournament, ending its quest for a conference championship, Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent and Duke skipper Chris Pollard had a brief chat behind home plate.
The message? “I hope to see you in Omaha.”
Both Avent and Pollard believed that the other’s program has a chance to make it to the Men’s College World Series by the end of the NCAA Tournament. Duke nearly made it last year, while NC State has been twice under Avent’s tutelage.
“I can’t say enough good things about NC State and their club,” Pollard said. “One of the hottest teams in the country. They’re undoubtedly going to host a regional next week in Raleigh.”
A run to Omaha will have to be what the Wolfpack focuses on now since its original goal of winning a league crown fell short in the Queen City. But its regular season resume — five ranked ACC series victories down the stretch — speaks for itself.
For Avent, hosting a regional for the first time since 2018, which is expected to happen this spring, is a good spot to begin a run to the heartland in search of a national championship.
“It’s good for the fans of Raleigh,” Avent said. “We’ve got loyal support, they pack that place and then some. It’s usually standing room only most of the time. It’ll be great for the fans, great for our players and we’re looking forward to it.”
Baseball America projects the Wolfpack as the No. 9 national seed, hosting South Carolina, Charleston and High Point. D1Baseball, meanwhile, has the Pack as the No. 11 national seed, alongside Vanderbilt, UConn and VCU.
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But before the Wolfpack finds out who it will face next week on Monday afternoon, NC State is going to use its Memorial Day weekend to its advantage. The Pack has battled injury and illness all season, including multiple season-ending injuries to a pair of pitchers (Matt Willadsen and Shane Van Dam) and Josh Hogue’s broken leg.
While there are several players not in the lineup due to injury, there are plenty of Wolfpack hitters dealing with minor injuries. Graduate third baseman Alec Makarewicz, the team’s leading batter, has managed to play through a nagging quad injury for the past couple weeks.
Even though he’s been banged up, Makarewicz hasn’t missed a game and is riding a 20-game hitting streak going into the NCAA Tournament. He, along with a few others in the Wolfpack’s red and white, will use this weekend to completely heal up before the double-elimination season begins at Doak Field.
“We hate to be leaving, but we’ll go home, rest up and get some rest,” Avent said. “We’ve got some bumps and bruises, all teams do. We’ll go home, take a couple days off and get focused for the regional. Let’s see if we can’t come out next weekend in a better situation.”
