Coming off one of the most exciting seasons in a very long time, there’s a lot to look forward to if you’re an NC State baseball fan. But if you’re hungry for some more action soon, you’re going to have to wait a little while.
While many other teams host or play in multiple fall events, this semester the Wolfpack participated in just one — a scrimmage against Duke at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. With so much excitement surrounding the team, why make fans wait even longer to see the Pack play again at Doak Field?
It’s not as if there are limited teams local to the area. In fact, it’s no secret that the state of North Carolina is a college baseball powerhouse. Home to Duke, the reigning ACC champs, as well as four other teams that qualified for regionals in this year’s NCAA tournament, including the Pack, which advanced to the final rounds of the College World Series, there is plenty of competition within a drivable distance.
East Carolina played two games in October, one on the road and one in front of a home crowd, while UNC-Chapel Hill hosted Walters State, Vanderbilt and even had its own World Series. Charlotte did not schedule any games, rather playing in its own fall World Series as well, open to fans with streaming available on the team’s Twitch page.
Duke was the lone North Carolina school NC State played against in Durham, which is a bit of a drive for some NC State fans.
While there obviously wasn’t much potential for fall games in 2020, a year impacted by COVID-19, I can remember there being a few fall scrimmages my freshman year, 2019, including a home game against South Carolina.
These games are a great opportunity to strengthen the fan base here in Raleigh, especially with so many fans who have just started following the team given all the excitement of last season. This is also a great opportunity for the fan base to get to know the new freshmen and multiple transfers from the offseason.
Pack baseball fans will be able to catch a reunion of this year’s College World Series team at the football game against Syracuse on Nov. 20, but they’ll have to wait until February for more action on the diamond. With so many eager fans waiting to catch some more baseball at the Doak, why make them continue to wait?
