North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: There's No Place Like (Close to) Home
6/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 1, 2005
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH -- Larry and Lynn Devine have already used up most of their vacation time this year, not to mention a significant chunk of their incomes on traveling back and forth between Raleigh and Junction City, Kansas.
So everyone in the Devine family - including NC State closer Joey and starting third baseman Matt - was thrilled to hear that the Wolfpack will be heading to Lincoln, Neb., for this week's NCAA Lincoln Regional, hosted by third-ranked Nebraska on its home field.
The Wolfpack (40-17) begins play Friday against Creighton (46-15) at 8:05 p.m., following Nebraska's opening game against Illinois-Chicago Friday afternoon.
For Joey and Matt Devine, the weekend will practically be a homecoming. Lincoln is about two and a half hours away from their hometown, easy driving distance for their parents and all those friends who haven't seen the brothers play college baseball.
Joey Devine didn't mind filling out paperwork Tuesday, trying to find enough tickets for the dozens of friends and family who plan to be there to support the Devine brothers and the Wolfpack.
"I always wanted to go back out and play in the Midwest, and for NC State to be able to go out there, and compete against the Big 12," he said. "I think it is going to be a fun trip."
Those fans will certainly be in the minority, however, as both Nebraska and Creighton, which is about 50 miles east of Lincoln, will fill 8,500-seat Hawks Field with loud supporters. It's the kind of hostile environment the Wolfpack is used to seeing in Chapel Hill, or Greenville, or Clemson.
"I think a big crowd, whether it is for us or against us, is a positive," Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said. "Most guys like playing in front of people. Sure, you would like to play in front of 10,000 people for you, but the fact that it is going to be packed is a big plus for us.
"It is a great opportunity for us to go there. Probably not a lot of people in that part of the country know about NC State. It's a chance for us to go out there and show what we do in this part of the country."
The Pack, which has won its last eight series after being swept by Georgia Tech in March, has performed consistently on the road, at home and at neutral sites. Since losing three to the Yellow Jackets, Avent's team has won series at Virginia, at Wake Forest and at Duke. It also won two mid-week games at East Carolina.
"You have to win five games, no matter where you play them," said junior pitcher Phillip Davidson. "So we are five wins away from what our ultimate goal has been all year long. Lincoln is where we are going to start and hopefully we will end up in Omaha."
Omaha, of course, is the long-time site of the College World Series. First, however, the Wolfpack would have to win the Lincoln Regional and then win the Super Regional, a best-of-three series against another regional winner. Those games could be played at Doak Field.
There are two things racing in the mind of Joey Devine as he prepares for what could be his last month as a Wolfpack player. The junior All-America closer is a likely first-round pick in next week's Major League draft. But he is also hoping to fulfill a promise he made to himself.
He and Matt made the three and a half hour drive to Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium for seven straight years when they were teenagers, to watch other teams play in the World Series. They played on the field several times as a members of traveling teams. But when Joey hit 16, he vowed not to go back to Omaha until he was a competitor in the World Series.
So he has his trip to Nebraska, with a wagon train of family and friends on their way to see him and Matt play. But the Wolfpack still has a lot of work to do before it can scoot over to Omaha.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
