North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: As Weather Warms, So Does Pack's Pen
4/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – Two years ago, one of the biggest reasons NC State came within one win of advancing to the College World Series was the performance of its bullpen.
In particular, the Wolfpack won two games against South Carolina in the NCAA Raleigh Regional at Doak Field at Dail Park because associate head coach Tom Holliday had the confidence in his deep and versatile corps of relievers to get crucial outs against the Gamecocks.
During one stretch, with the first game against USC tied 4-4, Holliday used four pitchers to face four different batters in the top half of the Gamecocks' murderous lineup. Two innings later, the Wolfpack offense produced the go-ahead run and the Wolfpack grabbed the victory that gave it the upper hand in advancing to the next round of post-season play.
Two days later, in the decisive game, Holliday used five pitchers, including starter Alex Sogard in a closer's role, to beat the Gamecocks 2-1.
It's been a while since Holliday has had that kind of faith in his bullpen. He never developed it last year and never completely settled on defined roles for his starters or relievers. And it took a while for him to develop it this year, when the bullpen was like a big pot of cold water: slow to heat up.
But after a shaky February and March, the Wolfpack bullpen has begun to boil a little.
Heading into tonight's series opener against North Carolina at UNC's Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, the Wolfpack relief corps has made distinct contributions to the team's recent success against ACC foes Miami and top-ranked Virginia.
In the nine games since the series opener against the Hurricanes on March 26, the bullpen is 6-0 with a 2.51 earned run average over 46 2/3 innings. That includes a win for Felix Roque against No. 15 Miami, a win for John Lambert in 11 innings against the Cavaliers and a win for Anthony Tzamtzis in the decisive game against Virginia last Sunday.
Obviously, for a team that has already scored 300 runs this season (10.3 per game), offense has carried the Wolfpack. But effective pitching from the relief corps has allowed that offense to produce a handful of impressive come-from-behind victories by limiting the opposing lineup in the later innings.
"I think actually the bullpen has gotten progressively better as the season has gone along and that's what has allowed us to do some things we've done here lately," head coach Elliott Avent says. "The bullpen struggled early, but over the last three weeks, it's solidified itself as [Holliday] has figured out how to use certain guys in certain situations.
"It's allowed us to do some really, really good things."
Holliday knows going into every season that building a bullpen will be a struggle of wills and weather. Not only is he dealing with a handful of new players who arrive with the expectation of starting, he also has to deal with the temperatures in the 30s and 40s, which limits the pin-point accuracy that he expects from all of his pitchers.
So far, Holliday has gotten eight or more relief appearances from a total of seven pitchers, led by junior Rob Chamra and sophomore Nate King with 11 each. And that doesn't even include freshmen Rey Cotilla and Mike Clark, two young arms who entered the season with expectations of making big contributions.
"The relief pitching pool is deep," Holliday says. "And all I'm waiting for from that pool is for people to realize that it's a lot more fun to be on the mound than in the dugout cheerleading. Our balance is incredible.
"I think the bullpen's starting to form. Why does it take so long? Because these kids have never relief pitched before. I kind of feel like I'm starting to know them better and am starting to match the personalities with the game situations."
Of late, Chamra and junior Grant Sasser have been the team's most effective relievers, a yin-and-yang duo that can cross up opposing batters with power and finesse.
Sasser, generally in long-relief situations, has been outstanding in his last four appearances, allowing just one run on six hits and striking out eight. That translates into a 0.90 ERA and a .188 batting average by the opposition for Sasser, whose fastball tops out at 82 miles an hour.
In his last three outings, the hard-throwing Chamra, who has hit 95 mph on the radar gun, has a 1.69 ERA in his last three appearances.
And Tzamtzis, who earned the win in Sunday's game against Virginia, has a 2.84 ERA in his last 6 1/3 innings.
"Sasser has been nails," Holliday says. "He's extended every start to get to the guys who've ended up being the late-inning guys. He gives us more of a chance to win being a middle reliever.
"Probably the guy who's been the biggest surprise is Chamra. We didn't know what we had there. He's a legitimate walk-on who showed up with an ugly delivery, a big heart and a lot of desire. But he's been very effective."
For Holliday, defining roles in the bullpen isn't hard. He evaluates his talent in the fall and determines who will pitch based on their performances in the early part of the season.
"It's really pretty simple: pitch well and your role will define itself," says the veteran coach.
Of course, most college pitchers were starters in high school, so moving to the bullpen can be a leap of faith that some aren't willing to make. But those who do can end up making big contributions.
"There's no doubt Coach Holliday knows what he is doing," Sasser says. "Every single pitcher that comes in here can pitch and can pitch well, and they were usually starters in high school or at other colleges.
"But once you see how smart he is, you realize that the biggest part of your job is to accept the role he has for you and do what you can do."
As long as they continue accepting those roles, and the offense keeps producing runs, Holliday believes the Wolfpack can put itself into the same position it did two years ago, when its relief corps carried the team into an NCAA Super Regional.
"Do we have it? Absolutely, we do," Holliday says. "It can be a special year, if everyone accepts their roles and pitches the way they've shown they can."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
