MCLAMB: NC State Will Be Happy To Get Back To Raleigh

NC State will be happy to get away from Miami. It was a rough weekend, and not due to the weather. The Wolfpack was chasing from behind all weekend, and Sunday’s thunderstorms almost felt like a needed respite for NCSU.

Daniel Cuvet (5-for-6, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 2 walks, 8 runs batted in) not driving in a run during an at-bat would rate as a moral victory for NC State, since Cuvet reached base at will–– at least when he was jogging around the bases.

The Wolfpack will lament not winning the first game. It seemed as though there was some preoccupation, as in wandering minds. For example, Alex Sosa was picked off third base after a double in the most innocent of ways – if you blinked, you missed it. Clean baseball does not guarantee championship baseball, but it puts a team in the best possible position to be above the rest. NC State did not play clean baseball on Friday or Saturday.

The good news for NC State is that everything in terms of regular-season goals is still available. With two weeks left, the Wolfpack can still be a regular-season conference champion and can earn a double-bye in the upcoming ACC Championship. Hosting privileges are out there to be earned as well.

The top of the ACC standings is cluttered, however. It can just as easily go south for some teams in the frantic final weeks of the regular season. Nothing has been settled.

Here is how the top-five teams in the ACC standings look and their two remaining ACC series:

1.      Florida State: 14-7 (at California, North Carolina)

2.      NC State: 15-8 (at North Carolina, Stanford)

3.      North Carolina: 15-9 (NC State, at Florida State)

4.      Georgia Tech: 15-9 (Louisville, at Duke)

5.      Miami: 14-9 (at Virginia, Notre Dame)

Visiting Coral Gables

Obviously, if the passion for watching NC State baseball is there, going to see the Wolfpack play Miami in Coral Gables should be high on the bucket list.

Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field is solid, and the backdrop is nice, sans some driveway construction going on at a building behind the centerfield wall. The food at the stadium was better than average for college baseball, although I would like some Latin influence in the food choices at a baseball game in South Florida.

While at the stadium, I found myself impressed with the public address announcer. Those are one of the many things that make certain parks distinctive, and I thought Miami had a good one.

What I did not know until I spoke to him was that Miami has a PA announcer who is also a local legend. Jay Rokeach is in his 57th season at Miami, and he is terrific.

The beauty of a trip to Coral Gables is that adding a day before or after the series gives the visitor some leeway to experience other things in Miami, and there is quite a bit to do. My hope in the future is to deep-sea fish, which I have never tried before in my life (I seldom go fishing in any form).

I took Daniel Wilson down with me, and we watched the Miami Marlins play. I have been there many times, and it is still one of my favorite MLB parks. With professional sports teams and an ocean at its disposal, you are good to go when you come to Miami.