For the NC State Wolfpack baseball team, the opening series at the Baseball at the Beach tournament was a tale of two different teams.
NC State finished the tournament with a record of 2-1 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Wolfpack scored 20 runs in the final games of the weekend on Saturday and Sunday. For head coach Elliott Avent, the good start to the season was a major boost for the team.
“A lot of people have been telling us that this is probably the toughest opening tournament,” Avent said following Sunday’s game. “For us to come out and get two big wins was huge for the team and a good start to the year.”
The lone loss for the Wolfpack came in the opening game against the Old Dominion Monarchs 5-0 Friday. For Avent, the weather and great pitching from the Monarchs played a huge part in the loss.
“Old Dominion basically just was throwing strikes and pitching ahead in the counts,” Avent said. “The weather played a little bit into that, but they were always 1-2.”
While the loss could be a bit disheartening for most teams, Avent remained positive about the potential for the season.
“Hopefully we can just take a shower, wash it all away and pretend it didn’t happen,” Avent said. “I certainly hope this is as bad as we can play. Hopefully we can come out tomorrow and refocus.”
The Wolfpack came out Saturday against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and showed it was completely refocused. The Wolfpack defeated the Chanticleers 13-10 behind a late offensive surge from junior Preston Palmeiro, sophomore Joe Dunand and sophomore Josh McClain.
Tied 7-7 in the top of the eighth inning, Palmeiro, Dunand and McClain each hit home runs with McClain hitting a two-run shot. As the firestarter for the rally, Dunand remained humble about the situation and the home run.
“I just wanted to get ahead in the count, and I wanted to get something for the team,” Dunand said. “I just stayed with the process, and it just clicked and happened for me.”
The Wolfpack followed through with the offensive surge on Sunday as it defeated the Kent State Golden Flashes 7-5, scoring all seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings, including home runs by junior catcher Andrew Knizner and sophomore right fielder Brock Deatherage, giving the team seven total for the weekend.
Avent will try to keep the expectation about the power hitting to a minimum following the offensive explosion seen in the final two games.
“I don’t want us to start hitting home runs,” Avent said. “We need to get our swings better, and it ain’t gonna start with home runs, I can tell you that.”
Knizner was the offensive catalyst for the team this weekend, notching two home runs and seven RBIs on the weekend. The junior described the difference from Friday was just nerves.
“That first game was just first game jitters,” Knizner said. “We just came back and beat two quality teams with Coastal and then Kent State today; both of those games are huge wins.”
Another great moment from the weekend was when freshman infielder Xavier LeGrant got his first career hit on a deep solo homerun against Coastal Carolina Saturday.
“It felt amazing. It really didn’t hit me until I sat down in the dugout and sat down for a while,” LeGrant said following Saturday’s win. “I was floating on clouds when I was going around the bases.”
Following a solid start to what has been described by many as a brutal schedule, the Wolfpack will have 20 of its next 21 games at Doak Field, starting with Morehead State and St. John’s on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a chance to capitalize on its success in Myrtle Beach.
