Coming off of its recent series win against the No. 1 ranked Virginia Cavaliers, the State baseball team has surpassed all expectations so far this season. With a top-15 recruiting class coming in this past year, the baseball program looked like it was headed in the right direction, but needed a few years to fully develop. The team is extremely young and carries a roster of 21 underclassmen and seemed destined for a sub-par season in the tough ACC.
However, currently the team is 18-10 on the season and 5-7 in the ACC and has recently given Wolfpack fans something to cheer about in what is a down year in athletics. The team has gotten huge production from its senior leaders, Kyle Wilson, Dallas Poulk and Drew Poulk. But what has made this team exceed all expectations is the play it has gotten from the freshman and sophomores.
Sophomore third baseman Andrew Ciencin stepped into the everyday role and hasn’t missed a beat. Other countless freshman players have stepped up and made huge impacts for the team, making the transition from high school baseball to college seem easy.
But as I walk into Doak Stadium, I never have to fret about being a bit late or whether or not I will be able to find a seat. I have yet to be at a game where the stadium was completely filled other than the 2008 Regionals, when the Pack took down South Carolina.
These players deserve student and fan support. For the students, the game is free to enter with just a student ID. And the best part is you don’t even have to worry about being patted down or walking through any type of metal detector. You can just walk right up, show your ID, and relax – catch some sun and cheer on a team that has actually shown the ability to win on a consistent basis.
Other ACC teams have stadiums packed full of students and fans alike, screaming yelling and talking trash to the opposing team. If you don’t believe me, go watch a baseball game down in Clemson.
But why don’t we have that kind of atmosphere here? Around the conference and even the nation, N.C. State fans are known for their undying affection for Wolfpack athletics, win or lose. Students pack the football bleachers and basketball seats no matter how the record stands, so why can’t the students and fans pack a baseball stadium when it is playing well and give the team the type of home field advantage our basketball and football teams have?
Playing against the Pack in Raleigh should strike fear into opposing teams, and right now that is not the case with baseball. So why not get out to the field, grab some sunflower seeds and yell, scream and cheer for the Pack?
