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NC State Baseball

NCAA TOURNAMENT: Wolfpack Headed to Columbia

May 29, 2023
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NC State (35-19, 13-16 ACC) has been selected to the 2023 NCAA College World Series Tournament and will play in the Columbia Regional as the No. 3 seed.

The Wolfpack will be paired against No. 2-seed Campbell (44-13, 22-5 Big South) as tournament play begins Friday at 1 p.m. from Founders Park. Regional host South Carolina (39-19, 16-13 SEC) will open against four-seed Central Connecticut State (36-12, 25-5 NEC). The Columbia Regional is matched against the Gainesville Regional which contains Florida, Connecticut, Texas Tech, and Florida A&M.

One of the more explosive teams in the Southeastern Conference, South Carolina currently sits within the top 10 teams in the country in home runs hit with 110, but the Gamecocks dropped nine of its last 11 regular-season games after starting the season 30-4 overall. South Carolina defeated Georgia in the SEC Tournament before suffering back-to-back losses to LSU and Texas A&M. NC State holds a 35-22 all-time record over South Carolina, but the Gamecocks have the latest victory in Charlotte on April 2, 2019, dowing the Wolfpack, 10-8.

Entering postseason play with many outlets projected they would host, the Camels secured their second straight Big South Championship with back-to-back wins over USC Upstate who took two out of three from Campbell in the final weekend of the regular season. The Wolfpack last faced the Camels on March 2, 2022 when Campbell took the win in Buies Creek, 7-4.

Central Connecticut State heads into the tournament as the automatic qualifier from the Northeastern Conference after winning five games in four days with the final two victories coming against Wagner by a combined margin of 20 runs. Should the teams meet, NC State will face the Blue Devils for the first time in school history.

Stay tuned to Inside Pack Sports for more information as the Wolfpack’s postseason continues.

NCAA TOURNAMENT: Wolfpack Headed to Columbia (GAME THREAD)

106,444 Views | 871 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by Packsd14me
CLTWolf
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Nairo said:

We need more power in the lineup. Soles and Nolan are a wash defensively but Nolan at least gives you the threat of a long ball.

CLTWolf said:

Nairo said:

Soles 0-8 in two games. We better see Nolan in the lineup tomorrow.
Why wouldn't we?

and he was 1-5 yesterday (with a massive defensive play) playing while dealing with dehydration issues.

Never mind, my bad. My eyes saw Noah not Nolan.

I thought you were saying don't take him out because he was 0-8 (I know you made the edit after).
*Wolfpack Baseball - 2021 *NCAA COLLEGE WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!
*Congrats to the 10 win 2021 Wolfpack football team!
ClePack
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So I'm perusing NC state Twitter and see this.

Safe to say the soles family is fed up with Avent. Can't say I blame him after the decision to pull Noah tonight.


Pack31
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ClePack said:

So I'm perusing NC state Twitter and see this.

Safe to say the soles family is fed up with Avent. Can't say I blame him after the decision to pull Noah tonight.





Parents should take a breath before posting anything. Classless imo. Settle it behind closed doors. I hate social media.
BigLefty24
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ClePack said:

So I'm perusing NC state Twitter and see this.

Safe to say the soles family is fed up with Avent. Can't say I blame him after the decision to pull Noah tonight.





Because a parent posting on Twitter makes it true.. Jesus Christ.
@BigLefty24

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pack2010
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really tough game tonight. we barreled the ball well, but couldn't find any holes. and the USC defense made some nice plays.

ultimately, we don't have the arms to TRULY compete, IMO. we have to nibble due to our lack of velocity, and we missed tonight way too much (except carson kelly, he was just bad). don't think USC is necessarily better than us.
CLTWolf
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BigLefty24 said:

ClePack said:

So I'm perusing NC state Twitter and see this.

Safe to say the soles family is fed up with Avent. Can't say I blame him after the decision to pull Noah tonight.





Because a parent posting on Twitter makes it true.. Jesus Christ.
lol. "Bob Veneer", now that guy is a grade A dumbsht right there.
*Wolfpack Baseball - 2021 *NCAA COLLEGE WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!
*Congrats to the 10 win 2021 Wolfpack football team!
pack2010
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CLTWolf said:

BigLefty24 said:

ClePack said:

So I'm perusing NC state Twitter and see this.

Safe to say the soles family is fed up with Avent. Can't say I blame him after the decision to pull Noah tonight.





Because a parent posting on Twitter makes it true.. Jesus Christ.
lol. "Bob Veneer", now that guy is a grade A dumbsht right there.

i've had him muted for a long time, he is AWFUL
BigLefty24
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CLTWolf said:

BigLefty24 said:

ClePack said:

So I'm perusing NC state Twitter and see this.

Safe to say the soles family is fed up with Avent. Can't say I blame him after the decision to pull Noah tonight.





Because a parent posting on Twitter makes it true.. Jesus Christ.
lol. "Bob Veneer", now that guy is a grade A dumbsht right there.


All day, every day. He ranks right up there.

Dude is batting leadoff in the regional winners final, but Avent has "given up on him". Can't make this sh't up.
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BigLefty24
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Watching this Clemson/Tennessee game (what a great game so far), and I'm amazed at how virtually almost every SEC baseball team is so unlikeable. South Carolina, Vandy, Tennessee, Arkansas.. And how big of assh*les are leading most of those programs.
@BigLefty24

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James Henderson
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Staff
I personally didn't agree with going with Marcy over Soles with Groover in the hole, and I'm shocked neither pitch hitter was Parker Nolan.
pack2010
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James Henderson said:

I personally didn't agree with going with Marcy over Soles with Groover in the hole, and I'm shocked neither pitch hitter was Parker Nolan.

yeah why is trice getting an AB over Nolan? doesn't make sense to me. the marcy is whatever, he can really swing it. just didn't work out
matracey
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James Henderson said:

I personally didn't agree with going with Marcy over Soles with Groover in the hole, and I'm shocked neither pitch hitter was Parker Nolan.


Only thing I can think of is Avent wanted to get some power with Marcy to have a chance to tie it in one swing. But you have Groover and Peebles next who are both capable of doing that and there's only one out.
Wolfpack91
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ClePack said:

So I'm perusing NC state Twitter and see this.

Safe to say the soles family is fed up with Avent. Can't say I blame him after the decision to pull Noah tonight.



Looks like the reply tweet has been deleted.
LegacyPack4
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If I'm not mistaken Soles had hit grounders the last couple of at bats. He didn't look extremely comfortable up there like he normally does. Maybe Avent thought he could decrease the odds of a double play with hard hitting Marcy at the plate. Obviously backfired but I can see the rationale.

I would have personally stayed with Soles as he is a great hitter and was due.
DanielWilsonIPS
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James Henderson said:

I personally didn't agree with going with Marcy over Soles with Groover in the hole, and I'm shocked neither pitch hitter was Parker Nolan.
Agreed. Abandoned the L/R matchup for a slightly better HR chance statistically, but a worse opportunity in terms of consistency.
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BigLefty24
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LegacyPack4 said:

If I'm not mistaken Soles had hit grounders the last couple of at bats. He didn't look extremely comfortable up there like he normally does. Maybe Avent thought he could decrease the odds of a double play with hard hitting Marcy at the plate. Obviously backfired but I can see the rationale.

I would have personally stayed with Soles as he is a great hitter and was due.


You're probably hitting exactly on the thought process that went into the decision. Those coaches have access to a lot of advanced analytics that general fans are not privvy to, and making a move to decrease the chance of a ground ball double play was probably a big consideration. It's always a hindsight debate, and there's valid arguments on both sides.
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James Henderson
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matracey said:

James Henderson said:

I personally didn't agree with going with Marcy over Soles with Groover in the hole, and I'm shocked neither pitch hitter was Parker Nolan.


Only thing I can think of is Avent wanted to get some power with Marcy to have a chance to tie it in one swing. But you have Groover and Peebles next who are both capable of doing that and there's only one out.
Exactly.

It's the 7th inning. I'm not playing for a 3-run homer with a guy with 5 home runs on the year with Groover/Peebles due up.
tau06
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pack2010 said:

really tough game tonight. we barreled the ball well, but couldn't find any holes. and the USC defense made some nice plays.

ultimately, we don't have the arms to TRULY compete, IMO. we have to nibble due to our lack of velocity, and we missed tonight way too much (except carson kelly, he was just bad). don't think USC is necessarily better than us.


Been thinking on this a bit after watching the game tonight and can't fully wrap my head around it because I'm not entirely sure we were trying to win the game today or not after we were down 3-0 but I've had an issue all season that we have done a crap job of developing the bullpen and have not gotten our best arms innings and allowed them to work and gain confidence/flourish. Rio Britton at the start of the season is example 1. Never let him work through and get a steady role until last 4-5 weeks. Has turned it on once he's gotten steady work. Then you have both freshman today showing WAY better stuff than Kelly is capable of. It sucks because if you throw your best I think you win the game today but I'm not sure if we threw who we thought was best option or we're already trying to game plan to win 3 games after this one. Loved what I saw from the young guys tonight, wish we had seen more of them and other bullpen options instead of rolling out our top 3-4 bullpen arms when not needed early in the season. Would have helped this weekend…. Playing the results a but I've been beating that same drum all season on some of the head scratching pitching and lineup decisions…
tau06
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James Henderson said:

matracey said:

James Henderson said:

I personally didn't agree with going with Marcy over Soles with Groover in the hole, and I'm shocked neither pitch hitter was Parker Nolan.


Only thing I can think of is Avent wanted to get some power with Marcy to have a chance to tie it in one swing. But you have Groover and Peebles next who are both capable of doing that and there's only one out.
Exactly.

It's the 7th inning. I'm not playing for a 3-run homer with a guy with 5 home runs on the year with Groover/Peebles due up.



Agree 100%. Lot of strange thoughts and decisions I didn't agree with. Got a few guys who need to step up tomorrow who have been bad so far and at least 1 I hope isn't in the lineup
pack2010
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tau06 said:

pack2010 said:

really tough game tonight. we barreled the ball well, but couldn't find any holes. and the USC defense made some nice plays.

ultimately, we don't have the arms to TRULY compete, IMO. we have to nibble due to our lack of velocity, and we missed tonight way too much (except carson kelly, he was just bad). don't think USC is necessarily better than us.


Been thinking on this a bit after watching the game tonight and can't fully wrap my head around it because I'm not entirely sure we were trying to win the game today or not after we were down 3-0 but I've had an issue all season that we have done a crap job of developing the bullpen and have not gotten our best arms innings and allowed them to work and gain confidence/flourish. Rio Britton at the start of the season is example 1. Never let him work through and get a steady role until last 4-5 weeks. Has turned it on once he's gotten steady work. Then you have both freshman today showing WAY better stuff than Kelly is capable of. It sucks because if you throw your best I think you win the game today but I'm not sure if we threw who we thought was best option or we're already trying to game plan to win 3 games after this one. Loved what I saw from the young guys tonight, wish we had seen more of them and other bullpen options instead of rolling out our top 3-4 bullpen arms when not needed early in the season. Would have helped this weekend…. Playing the results a but I've been beating that same drum all season on some of the head scratching pitching and lineup decisions…

totally get what youre saying regarding kelly vs the kids who came in after (and i have been high on shaffner on year). but kelly is the kid who struck out the middle of the miami order with bases loaded and no outs last week. he didn't have it tonight. he was good as a true freshman, but hasn't improved much (thanks chrysler?). he was good the last couple weeks and seems like he passed baker as the guy out of the pen. but he wasn't good tonight.

and regarding halford- this was his first decent college outing ever. does it bode well for the future considering his preseason hype? hopefully. but he certainly isn't someone to count on
Alex Gee
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I have to say, I'm a little surprised by the discourse here and twitter. We needed to hit home runs in the pinch hit opportunities given the arms we were using, so we sent out Marcy and Trice. It's unconventional, but makes sense to me. We likely weren't winning by stringing hits together. Needed the big swing. Marcy is a much better power option than Soles. Same for Trice over Harrison.

If either of those guys tie the game on one swing, we could have gone to Fritton and played to win with pitching and offense instead of just offense.

Given how it was managed, we kept two of our best arms fresh for the elimination game and some options available if we can get to USC tomorrow night. If you can get through elimination tomorrow afternoon then it basically turns into back to back Sunday/midweek games in which the better offense tends to win. I'd take that risk.
flylike44
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BigLefty24 said:

ClePack said:

So I'm perusing NC state Twitter and see this.

Safe to say the soles family is fed up with Avent. Can't say I blame him after the decision to pull Noah tonight.





Because a parent posting on Twitter makes it true.. Jesus Christ.


WaaaaaaaH the coach gave up on my kid. Lol. In the era of NIL, his folks need to STFU. if their kid is producing, he'll get paid to play college ball. If it's not here, God bless. It's professional sports now folks. Treat it as such. Hurt feelings don't factor anymore.
ClePack
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James Henderson said:

I personally didn't agree with going with Marcy over Soles with Groover in the hole, and I'm shocked neither pitch hitter was Parker Nolan.
Agree. Obviously it frustrated soles' dad (? assuming that was his dad)
Wolfer79
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Sunday, June 4
Game 5 Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 | Noon
Game 6 Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 | 6 p.m.
Glasswolf
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I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can't trust em. Jim Valvano.

I40Wolf
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If neither host team wins their regional what is the selection criteria for the super regional host?
wilmwolf
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Pinch hitting for Soles wasn't giving up on him, it was just a coach trying to push a button and make something happen with a guy who only has one hit on the weekend. Everyone wanted him to pull Eli for being 0-for the weekend, but Soles is off limits? 41% of Marcy's hits this year have been extra base hits, you hope he runs into one or hits a gapper (questionable strike call didn't help his AB). You could've pinch hit Nolan instead of Trice, but maybe Trice is the only guy you feel comfortable with playing infield if the game was extended with the limited travel roster. Maybe there were other advanced metrics that went into those decisions that we weren't privy to.

The only metric I'm sure of is that people don't ***** about coaching decisions when they work. Nobody cared about pulling Nixon for Nolan in the 5th yesterday when he hadn't gotten out in 3 ABs. I know I wouldn't want to have to make these decisions, with two or three potential more games, trying to balance winning the game in front of you while not burning out your team for the other games. If you don't have a super dominate team, the regional setup is probably the most difficult setup from a coaching standpoint that you can have. I don't agree with all the decisions, I would've gone to Nelson first out of the pen (imagine the meltdown on here, lol). I would've tried to get some runners going to try and break up those double plays, but I have the benefit of hindsight, and you don't get that as a coach.

It's a monumental task now, but let's beat the Camels and see what happens.
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castlewood107
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Campbell's third starter has horrific numbers. Imagine they try to pen this together today with the only 3 relivers they trust-- Cummings, Rund and Boxrucker. Central Conn did us no favors in this region - punting the game vs SCarolina then giving up a 10 spot to Campbell and giving them a non-stress finish with limited pen use.

We need 5 IP from Sam and do everything possible to save Dom for tonight. If we are behind or tied after 5, you have to use Dom I assume.
kmb717
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castlewood107 said:

Campbell's third starter has horrific numbers. Imagine they try to pen this together today with the only 3 relivers they trust-- Cummings, Rund and Boxrucker. Central Conn did us no favors in this region - punting the game vs SCarolina then giving up a 10 spot to Campbell and giving them a non-stress finish with limit pen use.

We need 5 IP from Sam and do everything possible to save Dom for tonight. If we are behind or tied after 5, you have to use Dom I assume.


An ideal scenario would be our bats getting us an early, somewhat comfortable lead. Might be the only way we can piece 27 innings together if we're gonna win this regional.
Wolfer79
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I40Wolf said:

If neither host team wins their regional what is the selection criteria for the super regional host?
I think several factors

1. who put in bid to host, how much?

2. comparison of seeds
a #3 will probably not host over #2 from other regional
Packsd14me
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Well, not related to Soles but I did question the sub. I understood adding the power bat for one swing. Trice hitting in the 9th was the right play to me but maybe not Marcy. A hit by Soles in the 7th would likely have made the the game 6-4 and Groover batting. I think Avent panicked a little in the 7th. Btw, I was proud of Green's last AB in the 9th. Down 2 strikes in a really tough spot, he hit the ball hard in our last chance. He can hit. Put the ball in play hard, somewhere. Good philosophy to win a lot of games. You don't always need to try to hit a home run, even down 3. It's often harder.
Wolfer79
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interesting Saturday

host that lost
Kentucky
Florida
Clemson
Miami
Oklahoma State - eliminated
Auburn - eliminated
Vanderbilt
Stanford
PaperWolf
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In our best case situation, it would be #3 vs #3 (State and Texas Tech)...so maybe depends on the total 64 team rankings? Anyone know for certain?

Wolfer79 said:

I40Wolf said:

If neither host team wins their regional what is the selection criteria for the super regional host?
I think several factors

1. who put in bid to host, how much?

2. comparison of seeds
a #3 will probably not host over #2 from other regional
"There are 106 miles to Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses...Hit it!"
Wolfer79
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PaperWolf said:

In our best case situation, it would be #3 vs #3 (State and Texas Tech)...so maybe depends on the total 64 team rankings? Anyone know for certain?

Wolfer79 said:

I40Wolf said:

If neither host team wins their regional what is the selection criteria for the super regional host?
I think several factors

1. who put in bid to host, how much?

2. comparison of seeds
a #3 will probably not host over #2 from other regional



does anyone know if NC State and Texas Tech submitted bids to host and amount of bids?
Wolfer79
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PaperWolf said:

In our best case situation, it would be #3 vs #3 (State and Texas Tech)...so maybe depends on the total 64 team rankings? Anyone know for certain?

Wolfer79 said:

I40Wolf said:

If neither host team wins their regional what is the selection criteria for the super regional host?
I think several factors

1. who put in bid to host, how much?

2. comparison of seeds
a #3 will probably not host over #2 from other regional



 
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