At this point, it is hard to say how many bullets Sam Highfill has left in his holster. It seems like he is willing to use up whatever he does have to help NC State return to Omaha.
Highfill gave the Wolfpack six innings of four-hit pitching, allowing two runs while fanning four and walking two, as NCSU defeated Bryant, 9-2, to help send his team into the winner’s bracket.
The veteran pitcher, and famously one-time first baseman, has overcome injuries and bad fortune since NC State’s magical run in 2021. Still, he was on the mound Friday night at the Wolfpack’s Raleigh Regional opener grinding out innings to put his team in the best possible position.
Bryant, the American East regular season and tournament champions, came to play. The Bulldogs led early on a second-inning solo homer, and trailed, 3-1, as the middle innings approached.
With a runner on second base and one out in the top of the sixth, the American East Player of the Year, Daniel Noriega, smashed what looked to be, at best, a game-tying homer and, at worst, an extra-base hit to left-center.
Eli Serrano made a great play to haul the drive in. Highfill wiggled out of the inning, and NC State dropped the hammer with four runs in its half of the sixth to create separation.
The journey from the apex of the 2021 College World Series to returning as an important cog for NC State was not easy. The key was not looking back or ahead.
But NC State can look ahead to a big game against South Carolina on Saturday evening and at least one more contest in the Raleigh Regional – with the potential for bigger games this weekend and beyond.
What will Highfill have for that? It is too soon to know for sure, but he has shown his teammates, coaches, and Wolfpack fans that when it is time to stand tall they will get everything he has. That stands up with his other achievements at NC State. In fact, it might be his greatest accomplishment of all.
This is not a troll but serious and hopefully well received comment. This negativity about criticism is divisive and unnecessary. We all, at times, fall short in life. Sam is and should be role model for his peers and for us. His maturity and dedication to the team sets a high standard. Sam is not a machine. As ball player there are limitations and bad days. Thus observation of less than perfect performance should not create ann overreaction. We can criticize performance without it becoming a judgment of character. Your jump to Sam defense is not needed by Sam. It just drives people apart for no reason. Why go there so quickly?Alex Gee said:
An all time Wolfpacker. Exemplifies everything our fan base likes to wear on it's chest. Catches an unfair amount of criticism/nonsense takes and it's a damn shame.
What Sam has done for NC State is top tier and I'm thrilled that it happened in a time I/We got to cover it.
lolpoexcuse said:This is not a troll but serious and hopefully well received comment. This negativity about criticism is divisive and unnecessary. We all, at times, fall short in life. Sam is and should be role model for his peers and for us. His maturity and dedication to the team sets a high standard. Sam is not a machine. As ball player there are limitations and bad days. Thus observation of less than perfect performance should not create ann overreaction. We can criticize performance without it becoming a judgment of character. Your jump to Sam defense is not needed by Sam. It just drives people apart for no reason. Why go there so quickly?Alex Gee said:
An all time Wolfpacker. Exemplifies everything our fan base likes to wear on it's chest. Catches an unfair amount of criticism/nonsense takes and it's a damn shame.
What Sam has done for NC State is top tier and I'm thrilled that it happened in a time I/We got to cover it.
I love what you do at IPS. You are fun, articulate and very well informed. I just think you should chill on fan criticisms. Fans are always over the top.
Remember, it's not the people posting things like "Highfill is a huge disappointment" who are being divisive, it's the guy saying that he catches an unfair amount of criticism.CLTWolf said:lolpoexcuse said:This is not a troll but serious and hopefully well received comment. This negativity about criticism is divisive and unnecessary. We all, at times, fall short in life. Sam is and should be role model for his peers and for us. His maturity and dedication to the team sets a high standard. Sam is not a machine. As ball player there are limitations and bad days. Thus observation of less than perfect performance should not create ann overreaction. We can criticize performance without it becoming a judgment of character. Your jump to Sam defense is not needed by Sam. It just drives people apart for no reason. Why go there so quickly?Alex Gee said:
An all time Wolfpacker. Exemplifies everything our fan base likes to wear on it's chest. Catches an unfair amount of criticism/nonsense takes and it's a damn shame.
What Sam has done for NC State is top tier and I'm thrilled that it happened in a time I/We got to cover it.
I love what you do at IPS. You are fun, articulate and very well informed. I just think you should chill on fan criticisms. Fans are always over the top.
I will be cordial here and just say that I would recommend a read back here and on social media of things said about SH this year and last that are completely unfounded and leave it at that. It rivals what BA got on a lesser scale.poexcuse said:This is not a troll but serious and hopefully well received comment. This negativity about criticism is divisive and unnecessary. We all, at times, fall short in life. Sam is and should be role model for his peers and for us. His maturity and dedication to the team sets a high standard. Sam is not a machine. As ball player there are limitations and bad days. Thus observation of less than perfect performance should not create ann overreaction. We can criticize performance without it becoming a judgment of character. Your jump to Sam defense is not needed by Sam. It just drives people apart for no reason. Why go there so quickly?Alex Gee said:
An all time Wolfpacker. Exemplifies everything our fan base likes to wear on it's chest. Catches an unfair amount of criticism/nonsense takes and it's a damn shame.
What Sam has done for NC State is top tier and I'm thrilled that it happened in a time I/We got to cover it.
I love what you do at IPS. You are fun, articulate and very well informed. I just think you should chill on fan criticisms. Fans are always over the top: with adoration and criticism. It's a ying and yang that we should expect.
