North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Pack Magic Runs Out In Miami
6/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 9, 2003
By Tony Haynes
NC State second baseman Adam Hargrave took a mighty cut and drilled a hot grounder down the third base line. So many times with the game on the line in 2003, shots just like this one had sailed across the bag and into the left field corner, allowing the game-winning run to score from second. This time, however, the ball curled foul by inches. It was a foot, maybe less according to the third base umpire. The old-timers like to say that baseball is indeed a game of inches. After winning all those games by a matter of inches this season, the Wolfpack finally saw its magic run out by the narrowest of margins in Miami.
For a fleeting second on Sunday, Adam Hargrave and his teammates figured they had pulled out yet another thrilling and improbable come from behind victory in the 10th inning. As it turned out, the hard-hit foul ball was a sign that the end had finally come. In the top of the 11th, the Hurricanes finally put the pesky Pack away when catcher Erick San Pedro capped a six-run outburst with a grand slam that sent the Canes to Omaha for the 20th time in school history.
Omaha, the Holy Grail of college baseball, had seemed within NC State's grasp. Just the mere mention of the Nebraska city brought a broad smile to the faces of all the Wolfpack players last week when they discussed the possibility of qualifying for the College World Series.
But in Coral Gables, some of the attributes that had made this NC State team special disappeared in untimely fashion. The great pitching, spectacular defense and clutch hitting that had become almost uncanny seemed to melt away into the steamy South Florida air.
Starters Michael Rogers, Vern Sterry and reliever Joey Devine, three pitchers that were virtually impenetrable most of the year, looked human against the high-scoring Canes, who average better than eight runs per game.
Then there was the defense. Take away one Wolfpack error on Saturday and another on Sunday and this series would be headed to a third and decisive game.
And despite Marc Maynor's clutch single that tied Sunday's contest in the bottom of the 10th in game two, the Pack often failed to come up with big clutch hits in both games that would have made a difference. Instead, it was Miami that had the magic touch, finishing the clincher with only three men left on base in 11 innings.
It was Miami, in fact, that was able to manufacture the magic in this series.
Once time eases the pain, ACC Coach of the Year Elliott Avent and his team will be able to enjoy the memories of an incredible season that seemed to have no chance of getting off the ground at the beginning. With players like Brian Wright and Mike Prochaska gone in the draft, and starting pitchers Derek McKee and Daniel Caldwell recovering from arm surgery, it was no shock to anyone when NC State was picked to finish sixth in the ACC's preseason poll. Then there were all those unsettling road trips. With Doak Field being rebuilt, the Pack would spend most of its season hopping around from one ballpark to another.
Every now and then though, we run across teams that develop a unique chemistry, a mix that allows them to create the impression that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This Wolfpack club often had the ability to produce a different hero every time it took the field and did so under the most adverse circumstances. The result was a 45-win season that included a third place ACC finish, the chance to host an NCAA regional for the first time in school history and advancement into a super regional.
"It's tough for a season to end, especially with this group of guys," Avent said following Sunday's game. "In 23 years, I've never been associated with a group of guys that play with this much heart and character and made plays when they had to. You could say that it was two of the toughest days of my career or two of the best days of my career. It makes it tough to lose the way we did, but we have a group of guys that I don't think any coach would be prouder of than I am with this group."
Wolfpack fans couldn't agree more.
