Just six weeks ago, I sat down to watch the No. 9-ranked N.C. State baseball team start its season against Appalachian State with high hopes for the season. The team had lofty preseason expectations and had its highest preseason ranking in program history and was picked to finish second in the ACC.
Today, I see an N.C. State team that has struggled at times with consistency at the plate and control on the mound. Additionally, the team has had to deal with unfortunate injuries. The Wolfpack currently sits on a 21-10 (5-7 ACC) record and is on the verge of dropping out of the rankings, sitting at No. 25 in the Baseball America poll.
Now go back 30 years and one day to April 4, 1983. It was on this fateful date in 1983 the N.C. State men’s basketball team took the Houston Cougars down to the wire to steal the national title from Phi Slamma Jama.
The 1982-83 Wolfpack started its season with its own high expectations. State was ranked 16th in the AP preseason poll and was picked to finish third in the conference.
However, the season took a sour turn for the Pack just six weeks into its season. NCSU, ranked 19th at the time, faced No. 2 Virginia at home. During the second half, star senior guard Dereck Whittenburg broke his right foot after scoring 27 first-half points, helping the Wolfpack jump out to a 16-point lead.
The Cavaliers stormed back and won the game. To make matters worse, it was announced that Whittenburg’s college playing career was over.
The Pack went on to lose four of its next six games and quickly dropped from the rankings. The team finished the regular season with an underwhelming 17-10 record, going just 8-6 in the ACC.
Luckily, Whittenburg defeated the odds against him and was able to return just in time for the team’s memorable championship run.
Jump back to 2013. The N.C. State baseball team is in a similar predicament.
Injuries have been a significant problem for the Pack. Sophomore All-American shortstop Trea Turner suffered a high ankle sprain in the conference opener against Clemson and has sat out 11 games this season as a result. This particular injury has had the most significant impact on the team.
Prior to his injury, the standout was batting a jaw-dropping .642. In the seven games he has participated in since the injury, his batting average is just (and I use “just” lightly) .375.
His RBI count has also dropped during this time. Before the injury, he was bringing home 1.86 runs per contest. That number has fallen to 1.28. The number of times he crosses the plate himself has also plummeted by a full run per game, from 1.86 to .86. In his first 14 games, Turner had five home runs. In his seven games back, he is yet to hit one.
The most important number of all: seven of the Pack’s 10 losses have occurred since the injury.
It’s difficult to say that the injury caused his numbers to fall so dramatically, but Turner was certainly in an untouchable rhythm prior to the injury that he has yet to return to. Although one player can only do so much to assist a team, I have little doubt that the ankle injury has hurt the Wolfpack as a unit.
Injuries happen. They’re a part of sports that will never go away.
But the Cardiac Pack taught a lesson that N.C. State baseball can learn from: you can always bounce back from injury.
It took little time for Whittenburg to get right back into the groove he was in to start the season and lead the team to a national title. Turner, although he is still posting stellar numbers, is taking a bit longer to readjust.
We all know he has the ability to do it. We saw it last year and we saw it again at the beginning of this season. And when he gets back into the swing of things, you can bet the Wolfpack will be back to its winning ways.
Don’t count the Pack out just yet. There is a lot of baseball to play. Only time will tell how the season will end for the team.
Keep the faith. Perhaps a match will strike under Turner and he will lead his team to glory, just as another Wolfpack great did three decades ago.
