Sam Highfill: "It’s everything I dreamed of as a kid"

In NC State baseball’s 1-0 win over Vanderbilt Monday night -- a victory that has the Wolfpack a win away from the College World Series final -- a starting pitcher stole the show. That pitcher’s name is not Jack Leiter. It’s Sam Highfill. 

While Leiter was great, with 15 strikeouts in eight innings, Highfill was arguably better. He completely shut Vanderbilt’s offense down in 7.1 innings before handing the ball to Evan Justice, allowing just four base runners on two hits and two walks while striking out seven. With Terrell Tatum’s solo homer in the fifth inning providing the game’s only run, Highfill had to be flawless, and he was. 

“To pitch this kind of game against -- it was pretty obvious to him Jack Leiter was really, really good tonight,” said NC State head coach Elliott Avent. “Obviously he's one of the top pitchers in the country. I'm sure he's going to be one of the top few picks in the MLB draft coming up. And he could tell that he was really on tonight and was really -- and we weren't going to get anything. So for Sam to keep this offense at Vanderbilt at bay to allow us a chance, it was just unbelievable what he did tonight.”

Due to the extra year of eligibility from COVID, Highfill is technically still a freshman despite pitching for NC State in last year’s shortened season. 

That pandemic-shortened 2020 season, did not, however, include any kind of postseason play -- and thus nothing resembling the stages he is pitching on now. Highfill’s had a strong first full season for NC State since settling in as the Pack’s regular Saturday starter. 

After a couple rough starts against Wake Forest and Pitt in which Highfill gave up a combined 11 runs in nine innings, he bounced back in his last regular season start against Florida State while setting the stage for his dominant postseason run. 

The first four starts of Highfill’s postseason career couldn’t have gone much better, as he’s 4-0 and has allowed just five runs on 13 hits while striking out 21 batters and walking eight. 

“He’s been consistent all year, to be honest with you,” Avent said. “He's been really, really consistent all year. And if you talk about the last four starts, obviously everything's amped up a little bit from when you get in the ACC Tournament to Regionals to Supers to here.”

For Highfill, it started with 6.1 innings of one-run, four-hit ball against Georgia Tech in the victory that sent NC State to the ACC Championship game for the first time since 2015. He then secured NC State’s 2-0 start to the Ruston Regional with 5.1 scoreless innings against a dangerous Louisiana Tech lineup -- a win that gave the Pack a golden opportunity to win a regional for the first time since 2013. 

With NC State facing elimination in the second game of the Fayetteville Super Regional against Arkansas, and coming off a 21-2 loss in Game One, the Wolfpack needed a great game from Highfill in the worst way. He again delivered, allowing just four runs on two hits in 6.1 innings against one of the best lineups in the country. Then, in Tuesday night’s victory in Omaha, Highfill did everything asked of him to outduel Leiter. 

Every time the Wolfpack has needed Highfill to step up with a big start in this postseason, he’s come through. 

“To me, that was one of the most impressive things I think that Sam has done up to this point,” Tatum said. “Like, I'm just at a loss for words, honestly. I've gotten really close to Sam throughout the course of the postseason and this year. And every single day he comes and works as hard as he can and puts in the work and really deserves the results. And he keeps going out there and getting them every single time. It's really, like, unbelievable. I just can't really explain it.”

Throughout the postseason, Highfill’s ability to frustrate opposing lineups with his combination of attacking the zone with his fastball and dropping arm slots into his changeup has impressed teammates and opponents alike. 

“You’ve got to give him credit,” said Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin. “He pitched a hell of a game -- fastball, two different breaking balls, change-up, drop down. When we did get to base he made it difficult. He had a good move over to first base. Give him a lot of credit. He did a great job. That was a real well-pitched college baseball game, as good as you want to see.”

Highfill’s love for NC State started long before he himself put on a Wolfpack uniform. His grandfather, Joel Gibson, also played baseball at NC State, and his parents also attended school in Raleigh. So, it’s only natural that Highfill grew up a big State fan. 

Getting to pitch in a Wolfpack uniform on the biggest stage college baseball has to offer is something the Apex native has always wanted. 

“It’s everything I dreamed of as a kid,” Highfill said. “I remember going to NC State baseball games when I was 6, 8, 10 years old, and wishing I was able to be out there with them. I watched them come to the College World Series in 2013. And it's been a lot of fun.”

If his first full season is anything to judge by, Highfill has a very bright future ahead of him -- one that will likely include his name being called in a future MLB draft. But, in the here and now, there’s still much more work to do for Highfill and his teammates. 

If Highfill gets another start for NC State this season, it will likely be in the College World Series final. If the first four starts of his postseason career are anything to judge by, he’ll be ready.