The Wolfpack’s season ending loss at the Super Regionals may not have been what players, coaches and fans wanted — however, some players say it will serve as invaluable experience as the overall status of the program continues to increase as a result of 2008 successes.
For junior centerfielder Marcus Jones, the experience the Pack gained by competing in Athens will only bode well for the future of the program despite the team not reaching its more immediate goals for this season.
“Overall, we had a pretty good year,” Jones said. “We had a few bumps and bruises along the way, but we had a year we can be proud of and hopefully build off next year. We proved a lot to ourselves.”
Just before the first pitch was thrown on Sunday, N.C. State was on the verge of greatness. After beating the No. 8 seed Georgia 10-6 on Saturday to tie the series at 1-1, it needed one more win against the Bulldogs to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. for the first time in 40 years.
After just one inning, the picture looked very different. State had dug itself into a 9-0 hole and was in danger of embarrassing itself in front of a national audience. The Pack went on to lose 17-8, ending its season and sending Georgia to Omaha. Head Coach Elliott Avent said the Bulldogs were a deserving opponent. “They have a tremendous staff and players, and it is great that they are reaching their final destination in Omaha,” Avent said. “I want to congratulate our staff and players too. We have some great seniors, and we had a great year.”
The nine runs allowed in the first inning were the most allowed in any inning by N.C. State this year. The Wolfpack coaching staff was forced to use three pitchers to get the first three outs of the game.
Junior Eric Surkamp, the starting pitcher on Sunday, carried a 4.28 ERA into the decisive game three, but he struggled against the top of Georgia’s lineup. Surkamp left the game having given up five earned runs and recorded no outs. Avent said Surkamp’s performance was not reflective of his talent.
“Surkamp is a sixth round pick and has pitched some big games and had some big performances,” Avent said. “Today was just not his day. He couldn’t find the strike zone and they punished the pitches that did.”
Entering the super regional, N.C. State pitchers were only allowing 3.32 runs per nine innings, which was the fourth best mark in NCAA Division I. Before the Georgia series, only Miami had scored double-digits against the Pack, and no one had scored 17 runs. Redshirt junior first basemen Pat Ferguson said good hitters can put a team in the hole quickly.
“Good hitters do damage when they get pitches to hit, and they did,” Ferguson said. “Our mindset once we got back into the dugout was to come back and start chipping away at their lead, and we did that briefly.”
Leading the Bulldogs was shortstop Gordon Beckham, whose two home runs and four RBIs lead the team. The Pack’s Jeremy Synan said Beckham was a big reason State will not be packing for Omaha this week.
“Obviously he is a great player,” Synan said. “He is good offensively and defensively. The crowd loves him here, and he is just a great player.”
Synan was one of the lone bright spots for State. The junior leftfielder led the team with three RBIs, two runs, and three hits including a home run.
The loss ended State’s season in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Championships. The Pack finished the year at 42-22 overall.
Jones said he cannot wait to see what the Pack will be able to do next season by building off of the successes of 2008.
“Part of the goal of the team, coaches and staff is getting as many people involved as we possibly can,” he said. “We’re going to look forward to hosting [another regional], hopefully hosting a super regional and then having a team that can make it to the College World Series. This year was a step in the right direction: hopefully we can make the dream came true next year.”
Deputy News Editor Derek Medlin contributed to this story.