NC State head coach Elliott Avent, RHP Anderson Nance, INF Sherman Johnson, INF Chris McHugh, and C Vincent DeCarlo met with the media to discuss today's win against No. 2 North Carolina.

NOTE: Click the videos above to watch the full press conference!

HC Elliott Avent

What's it like for you guys to finish this series with a win?

It's huge. I mean, as y'all were hearing, you saw how good Carolina is. That team is well put together. They're well put together, they're well coached. The players play the game the right way. That's just a well put-together baseball club. The first two games ended. We were here late last night, obviously, on the ACC Network. Two 7 o'clock games, so you're getting home at midnight. And after the first two games, when we left last night, our guys, it was tough. And the way they came out and played today, this team's got a lot of heart.

We got Mikey Ryan back a little bit. That's a good sign. We get Marohn back. I'm not saying we can make a deep run, but I think we can make a noise in the regional. And getting those two guys back will be big. Anderson Nance, incredible. Luke Hemric, a freshman, knew how big this game was. Postseason, come in and do what he did, and then Ryder to finish the game. Obviously, you guys had good games, but you got the bunt down. Bargo pinch-hit and got an intentional walk. All those things matter. And Chris McHugh and Ty Head had incredible performances.

Is there confidence in moving forward as you head into the ACC tournament?

I think for the last eight to ten weeks, I think this team knows how good they are. Offensively, I'm not saying as good as any team in the league, but the teams they talk about offensively in this league are Georgia Tech and some other people that are very offensive. And I think we're right there with most teams in the league. Offensively, we're very, very good. And another setback today is that we left here, and Coops couldn't play. They caught that ball the other night.

He didn't go into concussion protocol, but he was just a little not ready to play. We went with a rookie, Vincent DeCarlo, and caught his tail off. He hadn't caught a game all year. And got a couple of big hits. Guys are stepping up. So, yeah, this is a team that we're getting our own back. It looks like we're going to get Mikey back. I don't know whether we'll get him back at short or not, but it was close to making that call today, so we'll see how he feels on Tuesday.

Do you feel like you're a bubble team?

I don't. I feel like we're in. The ACC, the SEC, all the conferences are good. I'm not one of those guys who says, " Our league, our league, our league. A lot of people say that. There's a lot of good leagues out there, right? And so, but, yeah, I think this team got us in. And so, as I said, they know we've been hamstrung a little bit. We're getting Mikey back now. Maybe we're on a regional, and, yeah, I think we're in, yes.

What do you need to see out of Marohn to be able to get him back on the mound?

I saw a lot this morning. He came in. Oh, Ryan Marohn. I was talking about Mike. Ryan Marohn. We just got to build. He's fine. We just got to build him back up. He's shut down for so long. Now you've got to build him back up. He won't get back to being a starter like, you know, but any 30 or 40 pitches you can get out of Ryan Marohn's a big 30, 40 pitches right now.

So would the tournament be the earliest thing?

He would be back, not next week. The regional, I said, yeah.

And then you talked about Nance, how much of those longer outings that he had recently helped kind of gave you confidence that he could start?

I've got confidence in Nance. We just need him so bad in the bullpen. When you lose Dudan and Marohn, you're not just losing two top pitchers. I don't know of any team in the country. Of course, I don't know every team in the country. I watch a lot of baseball. ESPN3 is one of the best things that's ever been invented for me. It's kind of like Netflix for my life.

It's the same thing. And so I watch a lot of games. I don't know of any team that can lose its top two starters and do what we've done. And it's not just like we lost our top two starters. They were kind of the heart and soul of our team, toughness, great teammates, energy. And so you can always say next man up if you want to, but when you know who you lost as a player, sometimes you try to do more, and we know you can't do that.

Sometimes it's kind of a letdown because you know it's going to be tough without those two guys. And then it changed the whole bullpen. We were just getting things in order with our bullpen, and then we had to pull somebody back out. It was tough. It's been tough. Like I said, the heart of this team, especially after the two tough losses, once again, against a great Carolina team. I've been in this league a long time. That's one of the top teams I've seen in this league.

They're very, very good. And so how our guys came out here today was tremendous for me. But, yeah, losing those two guys, it's tough for the team because they keep going out there every day. Ty Head plays as hard as anybody who's ever played at NC State. Luke Nixon plays as hard as anybody who's ever played at NC State.

Sherman Johnson has made so much progress. He's turned himself into an unbelievable player. And they go out there night after night giving it their all, and sometimes the results haven't been good because of the depleted bullpen. You just got to really – can't say enough about this whole team right now.

Your freshman class has contributed, I think, about four guys out there, at least off the top of my head, who were freshmen. How encouraging it is to know that freshmen can contribute now, and, of course, in the context of now and in the future?

Yeah, it's amazing. I mean, you talk about Rett Johnson, who caught the last ball. He's played whatever number of games we've played this year. What's it been, 50-some, I don't know. I don't know what he played in high school, but I'm sure it's in the 20s. And the guy plays – another guy just plays as hard as he can every night. And you said four guys.

So Vince DeCarlo is behind the plate. Serrano. Serrano is the shortstop who should be in high school. Right? And Hemric. And then Hemric goes out there and almost finishes the game in a big relief stint. So, in a game like this, for those guys, all they can do is boost their confidence from here on out and going forward next year.

Elliott, kind of a tough question to ask, but you're in your last year of your time at Doak this year. Do you anticipate being back at Doak next year?

Right. And you're the one who asked me that question, I think, when we got off the bus from Omaha, I believe. And you're the only guy I would give a response to. And it's not that I don't appreciate it. Since I've been here, the media, all you guys. Everybody here has been so great to me, and I love all the media. You all have great questions. You're good people.

But Chip Alexander has a dear spot in my heart. I want to tell you that. So I didn't answer that question all year last year. I mean, '24, and I got it over and over and over. And finally, Chip asked me when we got off the bus, when we got back from Omaha, and I answered his question. Because he's not only a professional reporter, he has a great feel and does things the right way, and I thought he deserved an answer. So I gave him one. So I won't give you one right now.

Chip, you're still a great friend, and I respect you as much. Not that he bought the house I wanted to buy. I couldn't afford it. I don't want to play it to you as an observer, but he bought a house I couldn't afford that I wanted. But I don't know what the future holds. All I know is this is as big a win as I've had since I've been here, and I'm going to go home and enjoy this thing tonight with my wife and then go to Charlotte and get ready for the ACC tournament and hopefully a regional. Thanks, guys.

RHP Anderson Nance

On starting...

It was awesome. I mean, Clint Chrysler called me last night when I got to the game, pretty much, and he was like, " You got the ball first, and I was like, " Alright, let's go. So, it was a good opportunity. Thought I pitched pretty well. Obviously, didn't come in as well as I wanted to, but I just got the job done.

Is there anything different in preparation from coming here on the 10th to start in a game like this?

Yeah, I mean, whenever you're in relief, you throw it before the game, and then they send you down, throw it down there, and then come in, but as a starter, you're like, preparing yourself a little bit more going into the day, and once you get here, you're like, I'm on my time, so.

Do you have the confidence to play?

Oh, for sure. I think going on the longer outings recently has helped with the longer innings, as far as pitch counts and all that goes. As soon as I got to 80-some, he was like, “Are you feeling good?” I was like, “Yeah, let's go one more at least.”

You did win today. How will that help you guys heading into the ACC tournament?

That's big. I think it gives us a lot of confidence going into the postseason, so I think our bats are heating up a little bit, and I think we'll continue that going into the ACC tournament.

Do you have any added pressure starting a game like this, where you guys kind of need to get a win?

A little bit. I kind of just tried to block all that out, just kind of throw my game and whatever happens, happens, so just get it the best that I can.

How did you work around the early walks that you had, you know, with guys on, trying to get out of that?

Yeah, I just drove the pitch count up. I was like, I got to get a couple innings where it's like at least 10, 15, or less, so just kind of trying to keep the pitch count down and go from there.

How did it go pitching to Vince today? How did it go pitching to Vince today?

I mean, I always try to keep it like soft contact. Most of the time, it's hard contact, but I trust my players behind me and let them get the hang of stuff and keep going.

Did you mean Vincent DeCarlo?

I did mean Vincent DeCarlo.

Oh, I'm sorry.

No, but you were rolling, man. I didn't want to stop you.

No, he was awesome. He was known last minute that he was going in, and he came in like a pro, and it was awesome.

INF Sherman Johnson

I mean, you got moved up in the lineup today. What are your thoughts on that? Did you like it?

Yeah, I liked it. Hart and Bo Rob came up to me, and Avent was like, " Hey, we're putting you in 3-hole today. So I was like, I've been in it, I've been swinging it well. So it wasn't anything new, just staying to my approach, it was fun.

What's it been like for you the last couple of weeks? You hit the ball really well, I think five homers in the second game.

Yeah, it's been crazy. I've just been working, working at it every day with Bo Rob, Hart, and Avent in the cages every single day. Trying to get the lift on the ball, and it's starting to happen. And I've known this in there, and so it's been fun.

Is it cool to have it happen in big games like this, in games you guys really need to play?

Yeah, no, it's awesome. As I said, I think I'm prepared to hit this stage. I show it every day. I come here, and I work hard at it every single day. So, it's good.

How does this win help you guys conference-wise, heading into the tournament?

Yeah, I think it helps us a lot. I mean, that's a good team. I think they're number two in the country. And as Avent said, the first two games got away from us. I think we could have won those games as well. But, in this game, we came out there and showed what we really did. So I think it would be fun for us.

Do you feel like you guys have to do well in the tournament to make the regionals?

I mean, I think we should win one, just to be sure. But I think we've done enough. We have the hardest ACC schedule. Went to Florida State, went to Georgia Tech, played Miami, and then played them here. So it's been a rough season, but I mean, I think—

Did you just speak to the support you've received this season? I feel like every series I've been to, I've seen a family member, somebody wearing a number five jersey. Could you just speak to that and how much that means to you?

Yeah, I mean, my first two college years, I was 13 hours away in Texas. So my parents and family didn't get to see me as much. Now that I'm six and a half from Georgia, they get to come up here and visit me, it's big for me, just so I know that they're there for me. They've always been there for me, so it's been fun seeing them in the stands.

And they're going to the road ones, you talk about Stanford, not Texas. They were there too. Yeah, I mean, just again, what does that mean when you look out there, they got your back?

Yeah, yeah, they did come to Stanford. That was great. They went to Stanford as well, and they're a big support for me. My dad's always been there, throwing me BP in the cages every single day. And I'm glad that I'm showing off my skill for them, so it's been fun.

INF Chris McHugh

On the win...

Yeah, I've been waiting on it, I've been getting joked about it a bit, probably falling off the track more than anybody, but it felt good, obviously a big game, so that was a big hit, yeah.

How much does a win like this help you guys move forward?

Yeah, I mean, that's one of the best teams in the country, no doubt, and they got us the first two days, but that's really big that we bounced back and didn't just let them get another one, but yeah, big win going into the ACC tournament, so yeah. Yeah, I mean, that's one of the best teams in the country, no doubt, and they got us the first two days, but, yeah.

Is this a team that can be competitive in Charlotte, you think?

Yeah, I mean, we just showed it, I mean, that's just about, I don't know what they're ranked, but they're a really good team, and, we just beat them pretty, pretty good, um, first two games got away from us, but I think that's what we can be, and I think we can go on a run just like anybody can, so, just gotta be hot at the right time, and I think we just got that going.

Got a lot of freshmen on the team, and they're starting to contribute, and this far into the season, they're, are they really even freshmen anymore? Your thoughts on that?

Yeah, they got a chance, uh, but we got a good group of guys. I mean, Vince, the pitchers are unreal, obviously, Rett, Serrano, I mean, I could keep going, but, yeah, it's like they're not freshmen anymore. I mean, again, it's, there's a new season starting, postseason play, but, I mean, I think they're all ready for that.

Do you feel like you guys need to win a couple of games in the ACC tournament to help your chances?

I don't, uh, but at the same time, I mean, why not just go win it all, but I think we've done enough, played really well against UNC today, and, you know, I think we've done enough. We're in, I think we're in, I think we're in, I think we're in, I think we're in, I think we're in, I think we're in, I would say the best conference in college baseball this year, the deepest, so I think we've done enough to just solidify that today.

C Vincent DeCarlo

Anderson talked about you jumping in late, and when he found out you were going to go in there, how were you able to respond to that jump-in?

Yeah, so I think it was like 15 minutes before the game, honestly, I was in the dugout, and I walked out just getting my cleats on, getting ready for whatever, and then I think it was J.T., he said, " You're in there today, so I was like, alright bro, let's go, let's do it.

I don't think I've actually ever caught Anderson this year, at all, so I was excited for that, a new challenge, he's obviously a great pitcher, so, kind of on autopilot back there when he's on the bump, so, it was good.

What was working for him was that, hey, we got him to go career-long at six innings?

Felt like everything, I mean, every time he called a pitch, I knew he was, I trusted him to put it in the spot that it was going to be, so, like I said before, autopilot, kind of just doing his thing, he's a really good pitcher, and he's going to be good for years to come, so.

You mentioned not knowing when you were going to play. Obviously, coming through with a big hit that kind of excelled it, what was that like for you to have a moment like that in this kind of game?

It's exciting, for sure, I mean, I love big games, big moments, I feel like I play better in those kinds of environments, so, just sticking to my process, doing everything I've been doing every single day, and I think it just paid off today.

What did you think of the off-pitch relay to get the guy out at home?

Oh, Christian, that's my guy, man. He doesn't live with us, but he's basically like our fifth roommate ever since. He's always in our room, so I trust him to put it there as well, and it was a good throw.

You killed the mustache.

Yeah, I did. I'm trying out different stuff. I've had a goatee, beard, and mustache. I've kind of just been doing it all freshman year, back to the baby face for a little bit, so we'll see.

Okay, just curious. You look like a kind of 70s detective type of guy.

That's what people were saying. 70s detective. It was funny.

Rockford Files.