Dugout report: Avent, Justice on ACC semifinals victory

CHARLOTTE -- Following an 8-1 over Georgia Tech at Truist Field Saturday, NC State baseball will play for its first ACC Championship since 1992, and the first of Elliott Avent’s career as NC State’s head coach. 

Avent and Evan Justice, who secured the game’s final eight outs, spoke to the media after the win. Here’s a full breakdown of everything they had to say: 

Elliott Avent

Opening statement

It was a good ball game, two great teams. Georgia Tech’s really, really good, really dangerous. They’ve got a lot of guys who can get the ball out of the ballpark. They hit a couple balls tonight that I thought may go and probably did earlier in the day, but tonight the wind seemed to be blowing it a little bit. We got a couple breaks, made the most of it and Sam Highfill was really, really good. We played a pretty good ball game. 

Sam Highfill has obviously been good for you guys all year, but hasn’t played in front of a crowd like that. How big was that performance from him today? 

I think it was huge. We haven’t played in front of a crowd this big all year, and that’s a shame, because that’s what we do at NC State, always. Our fans really support us and they’re used to playing in front of this number of fans. But if you’re really committed to what you’re doing and you’re playing the game for the right reasons, then you block out all that kind of stuff. That’s who Sam is. Even though he wasn’t used to pitching in front of a crowd this size, he could obviously block it out, because he’s more committed to his teammates. If you’re committed to your teammates, then you don’t give a lot of concern to the things surrounding you. 

How big was it for J.T. Jarrett to get to that Georgia Tech pitcher early, get some runs on the board for you and get some confidence? 

He did the same thing against Pitt. Second and third, he hit that same ball down the line. He did it again tonight. I think Mike Bell said it very, very well. He might be in the nine hole, but he’s not a nine-hole hitter, so to speak. He’s a competitor. When you compete, good things happen. He’s been kind of like our Bukcy Dent in this series. 

You guys got swept by Georgia Tech to start ACC play. Does beating them to get to the championship game feel a like a full-circle moment? 

I know we’re better than we were when we played them. We just weren’t ready to open the season. [Danny Hall] and I talked after that series, Danny and I have been together so long. He thought they played a complete weekend, and they’ve got a really good ball club. And I think a lot of teams are tired, a little bit, too. This tournament, it taxes you a little bit. We’ve had a couple night games which turn into later games, puts you in the locker room for two or three hours. We’re going to be at two or three in the morning. I thought there were some tired bodies out there on both teams. But you test your emotions, what you can bring to the ballpark and I thought our guys did a great job. 

What do you know about Duke?

I came over and watched their game today, which is kind of unlike what I want to do. I would rather stay in the hotel and watch it on TV, but I came to the ballpark before our game because I wanted to see how the ballpark was playing and all that kind of stuff. Because it seems to play differently at different times of the day. It turned a little cooler today and I wanted to see if that made a difference. So I came over here and watched them. They looked awfully, awfully good. They’re a really good ball club and they’re playing very, very well. I talked to Chris Pollard earlier and they’re playing really well with a lot of confidence and they’ve got a good team. We’ll have to play very well tomorrow. 

What does it mean to have two triangle teams competing for an ACC championship?

I think they’ll publicize it back home with exactly what you said, two triangle teams playing for a championship. But I think it’s more a testament to Duke University and our guys at NC State and what both teams did. Started out a little rough, stick with things and good things usually happen if you stick with it for a long period of time, especially in baseball. 

Closing statement

I’d like to say one last thing if I can. You mentioned Bucky Dent, and Bucky Dent is a good friend of mine and a class act. But I’d like to talk about another class act. Paul Mainieri retired today after 15 great seasons at LSU. I got to listen to his press conference this morning. I haven’t spoken with him yet, but I will. He’s a good friend, a great competitor and one of the great coaches of our time. I just want to tip my hat to Paul Mainieri and wish him and his family well. 

Evan Justice

How big was the momentum swing from the double plays the infield was able to turn?

That was huge. It’s a lot easier as a pitcher going out there and competing knowing you’ve got those guys behind you. They’re always capable of doing something like that. You’re just pitching to contact when you’ve got great players behind you.

Does this feel like a full-circle moment to beat Georgia Tech to advance to the ACC championship game after getting swept by the Yellow Jackets in your first ACC series of the season?

It just so happened that we played them tonight. We go out there and treat everybody the same and just try to compete and play our best baseball every day. It feels good to be where we are now compared to where we were. But just going out there and competing every day is our mindset. 

What characteristics does a team need to have to overcome a slow start and compete to get to a championship game?

I think that just speaks to the resilience of this team. We never quit. We never put our heads down. We didn’t get off to the start we wanted to, but we continued to go to work every day at practice and practice hard. We found a little rhythm here. We hope to keep it rolling from there.