Currently sitting in a three way tie for sixth place in the ACC with a 9-9 record, the N.C. Wolfpack is preparing to play in one of the most crucial series of its season as it takes on the Boston College Eagles, one of the other two teams tied with State in the ACC. And after sweeping Maryland last weekend, getting the teams conference record back to even, the players and coaches are focused on remaining over .500 for the rest of the season.
“This is one of those pivotal series of the year,” senior second baseman Dallas Poulk said. “You come out and get back at even, and this is a chance to take the next step in the winning category. They are 9-9, and we are 9-9. It’s a difference in a winning or losing record, a difference in going to a regional, not going to a regional.”
In the 13 times the Pack have faced the Golden Eagles, State has dominated the series as it has won 11 of the 13 games, including holding a perfect 6-0 record against Boston College in the friendly confines of Doak Stadium.
However, injuries have plagued the team recently as starting third baseman Andrew Ciencin has been hampered by a sore hamstring, while leading hitter and senior leader Kyle Wilson has been out of action the past few weeks struggling with a sore groin, and it is questionable whether he will play this weekend.
“With a hurt groin he just can’t play,” coach Elliott Avent said. “He played with it for three weeks and played tremendously. But he played as long as he could with it until the doctor told us he had to sit out for a couple weeks if we wanted him at the end of the season.”
No matter the injuries, Avent and company are just happy to be back at home playing in front of their own fans and hopefully can give them something to cheer about.
“We have had some injuries and some guys getting tired, and it has felt like we have been on the road a lot,” Avent said. “But know we are back at home and have our legs back underneath us, and hopefully we can win the series.”
In rout to its sweep of Maryland, the Pack got excellent pitching performances out of its Friday and Saturday starters, as both Jake Buchanan and Cory Mazzoni pitched complete games. And for Buchanan that pitching performance was a nice confidence builder as he and the team head into the final stretch of the season.
“It helped me a lot confidence wise getting a good start under my belt, just getting back on the right track,” Buchanan said. “But I have to just build off of that and go in work with the same game-plan.”
After a rough defensive game Wednesday night against East Carolina, in which the team committed six errors, coaches focused heavily on the defensive side of things in practice on Thursday. And Poulk believes that the extra focus on defense will help the team take that next step into being a well rounded team as it knows that the hitting and pitching will already be there.
“We needed to focus on defense; we worked on that a lot at practice, and that is what is going to win and lose ball games,” Poulk said. “We know we will come out and hit, but defense will win or lose ball games.”
Avent echoed Poulk’s statements, realizing the little things such as defense and base running can help a team win or lose a game, and with a series as important as this one, the team will have to be playing at its highest level to take full control of the sixth spot in the conference.
“It is a big weekend. A bunch of teams are just scrunched in the middle of a tough league, so every win now is awfully important,” Avent said. “We just have to pick it up defensively and on the base-paths, so we can take advantage of every opportunity we get and limit opportunities for the other team.”
