It’s the bottom of the eighth inning in NC State baseball’s 9-6, series-clinching victory over Georgia Tech at Doak Field Sunday. The Pack has already scored four runs in the inning to turn a 5-3, at one point 5-0, deficit into a 7-5 lead when junior left fielder Brett Kinneman steps to the plate with a runner on.

Those watching the game have some idea what they might see. Kinneman, after all, came into the game tied for the national lead with 11 home runs. No one, however, was perhaps prepared for the magnitude of the 12th, as Kinneman launched a mammoth shot over the top of the tree line behind right field.

It was just the latest shining moment in a red-hot start for the York, Pennsylvania, native. Kinneman is currently second in the country with 12 dingers and tied for fifth in RBIs. He has helped power an NC State offense that is fourth in the country in total home runs, and a team that sits atop the ACC with a 21-4 record (7-2) ACC, the best start to a season for the Wolfpack under head coach Elliott Avent. How has Kinneman done it? With a patient plate approach.

“I think just seeing good pitches, getting into good hitter’s counts,” Kinneman said. “Obviously the timing and stuff like that has been really good so far this season. Just being able to get pretty good hitter’s counts, and then getting those pitches, not hitting pitcher’s pitches. More times getting my pitch rather than theirs.”

In his 21 years as NC State’s head baseball coach, Avent has seen a lot of baseball players come through. By now, he knows what he likes in a player and how to recognize when he gets his hands on a special baseball player that loves the game and gives his all on and off the field.

Avent saw those qualities in Kinneman almost immediately upon the junior left fielder’s arrival at NC State.

“As soon as he got here, the ball jumped off his bat,” Avent said. “I realized how old school he was. He plays hard every day. He loves to practice; he loves the game. He loves being in the dugout; he loves being in the locker room. He’s an old-school baseball player, and when you get a guy like that, he’s liable to have some of the qualities I’ve talked about.”

Sending baseballs skyward is not Kinneman’s only responsibility.

Over his college baseball career, he’s strived to improve defensively as well. He’s become a much better defender manning one of the all-important corner outfield spots for the Pack, building up arm strength to make critical throws back to the infield for outs and growing his ability to run down tough catches in the outfield. He’s worked on his base running as well, bringing a balanced skill set to the table this year for a team with College World Series aspirations.

“He’s a complete baseball player,” Avent said. “He’s made himself so much better defensively in the outfield; his throws are usually on the money. He’s developed a better arm. He’s made himself a tremendously better outfielder. … And then he’s a good base runner. He takes every part of the game serious.”

Adding to the impressive nature of Kinneman’s breakout season is that it has come in his junior year. The third year of a college baseball player’s career brings tremendous added pressure, as it is followed by second-time eligibility for the MLB draft (the first being directly out of high school). That added pressure of seeing the hordes of radar gun-toting MLB scouts at their games can get into a lot of players’ heads and cause them to experience the dreaded “junior slump” that sees their numbers dip in that first draft-eligible season.

Kinneman, however, has been able to set those distractions aside and simply focus on the task at hand.

“Obviously I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I had some personal goals as far as those things go,” Kinneman said. “But I think that I’ve always prided myself on being a really good teammate. Being a leader in the clubhouse. I’m far more worried about hopefully competing for an ACC Championship and competing to go to the College World Series than I am about those other things. I think our team’s success and hopefully some personal success through that will allow those other things to play themselves out.”

If there’s anyone on the team who knows what a junior slump can do, it’s senior right fielder Brock Deatherage, who struggled as a third-year player for NC State last season. Deatherage has been impressed with the season his corner outfield partner has had despite the added weight of the draft.

“I just think that he hasn’t let things get to him,” Deatherage said. “He hasn’t let the draft process kind of take over and think about it a lot. Whether it’s a tough day that he’s had, or a really good day that he’s had, I don’t think the draft has really influenced anything when it comes to him. From a struggles standpoint your junior year, I know it’s tough. I’ve been there.”

For Avent, it comes as little surprise that Kinneman hasn’t let the pressure of his junior year and the draft get to him. Kinneman’s approach to the game and coming in more than ready for the rigors of his junior season have made distraction a nonissue.

“A lot of times pressure comes from not being prepared,” Avent said. “You know you’re not prepared for something so that’s pressure. Brett doesn’t feel that because he’s always prepared. …  This game is about opportunities. Brett doesn’t seem to worry about that too much. He’s always prepared. He knows he can play. He knows he’ll probably have a chance to get to the big leagues when he has a chance to get there. He doesn’t seem like he’s on a time crunch.”

Another factor that’s allowed Kinneman to break out in his junior season is simply enjoying the ride. He’s living the dream of playing baseball at the collegiate level, at a school he quickly realized he wanted to attend during his recruiting process.

“I think it’s kind of all come full circle,” Kinneman said. “This is the place I really wanted to come … I’m more than thrilled to be able to play for coach Avent every day. I think he’s a great coach, a great man. He just does a great job with the guys. Being able to compete with these guys in arguably the best baseball conference in the country. I’m blessed to be around that, and it’s just awesome.”