North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Close Calls Commonplace for Wolfpack
6/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 4, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-Upon close inspection, NC State baseball coach Elliott Avent doesn't seem to have many more gray hairs than he carried at the beginning of the season. But who could really blame the ACC Coach of the Year if he started looking like former Georgia Tech basketball coach Bobby Cremins? In winning 45 games this season, the Wolfpack has had, shall we say, a flair for the dramatic. And while the close games have kept State's coach and fans on edge, the players seem to be entertained by it all.
"Coach Avent says, 'why can't you guys beat someone the old fashioned way every now and then?'" Wolfpack third baseman Jeremy Dutton said in between giggles. "We're pleased with any way we can get them."
And this NC State team has shown a remarkable capacity to do whatever it takes to prevail in the most pressurized situations. Currently 11-2 in games that have been decided by one run, the Wolfpack was a perfect 9-0 in one run games before dropping an 8-7 decision to Maryland on May 3rd.
Clutch hitting certainly has something to do with it and so does solid relief pitching. All told this season, NC State has four walk-off homers, including the dramatic 10th inning blast by Justin Riley that beat VCU in the Wilson regional last Saturday night. Although not of the walk-off variety because it came in the top of the 14th on Sunday, catcher Colt Morton's opposite field shot provided the winning run in the Pack's decisive regional win over Western Carolina.
The other key ingredient to NC State's success in close games has been the magnificent bullpen work of closer Joey Devine, who led the ACC in saves with 14. And to top things off, the freshman righthander has been at his best in the postseason, allowing no runs on six hits in 8-1/3 innings. Along the way, Devine has walked one and struck out 11. Only nine of the 35 batters he has faced have even hit the ball out of the infield.
No wonder this team finds away to escape by the skin of its teeth.
"I guess it would be too much for me to ask for a blowout every now and then," Avent said. "I've been asking for that all year and we haven't done it yet; it's unbelievable. This team doesn't want to win one easy. You would think as much success as we've had that we could win one 15-2. Heck, I would take 8-3. I guess that's not possible."
If this weekend's super regional games at Miami turn into down to the wire pressure cookers, the Wolfpack will feel right at home. After all, 20 of the Pack's 45 victories to this point have been come from behind wins. Therein lies the biggest difference between last year's 7-17 ACC record and the 15-9 mark that landed NC State in third place this season.
"A lot of baseball is just luck," Dutton said. "You get a break here and break there and it makes the difference between winning and losing. We've won a lot of close games when maybe in the past we didn't win those games. When you lose close games it becomes contagious. The same thing can be said when you start winning them close. When we're tied or one run up or one run down late in the game, there's never any panic on our team. Getting two runs is nothing to us. We get a guy on base and the next thing you know we're hitting a home run."
And while all that is going on, their coach is trying to stave off a few extra gray hairs.
More on the Wolfpack: Despite a few nagging injuries, it will be virtually impossible for Avent to keep Dutton out of the line-up at Miami. Bothered by a hamstring pull last weekend, the senior sat out Friday night's win over Le Moyne before talking his way onto the line-up card on Saturday. Naturally, he doubled in his first two at bats against VCU. On Sunday against Western Carolina, however, he left the game after cutting a finger while trying to break up a double play. The injury required four stitches.
"They're saying that the soreness should be tolerable by this weekend," Dutton said. "I'll probably get the stitches out by Friday."
After catching three games in Wilson, Colt Morton reports that the knee he sprained late in the regular season is almost back to 100 percent. The All-ACC first team catcher was relegated to designated hitter duties for nine straight games after getting hurt in a home plate collision against Maryland on May 3rd.
All of NC State's games in Coral Gables can be heard in the Triangle on WKNC 88.1 fm and via the Internet on Gopack.com. Fans planning to make the trip can tune to the broadcast at Mark Light Stadium on 87.7 fm. Gary Hahn, "The Voice of the Wolfpack," will call all of the action.
