The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/141892
I By Bruce Winkworth n a whirlwind finish to this season, NC State won 32 of its final 38 games. In media interviews during that time, head coach Elliott Avent spoke often about how the Wolfpack players "know where they are and they know where they've been." ■ Coach Of The Year That was a clear reference to the fact that to get NC State to a 50-16 record (a school record for wins), its first College World Series berth in 45 years and a fifth-place national finish, Avent first had to guide his team through a very rocky stretch to begin the season. the ankle the rest of the season. Center fielder Brett Williams tweaked a knee in early March, came within a whisker of having surgery to repair the damage, and felt the effects of the injury on and off for the rest of the season. Logan Jernigan got off to a shaky start, walking 14 in his first 14 innings before breaking his pitching hand March 19. He missed six weeks following surgery to repair the broken bone in his hand. The result of all that was a 16-9 overall record and a 3-6 mark in the ACC, following a sweep at the hands of Virginia in Charlottesville the weekend of March 2324. The Wolfpack won its next two games, but then dropped a 3-2 decision to Mary- Steady Hand Elliott Avent Guided The Baseball Team Through Early Adversity To A Remarkable Postseason Performance "People will always remember how we finished, going to the College World Series and all, but it wasn't easy," Avent said. "We had adversity early, be it injuries, cold weather, inconsistent play. We never lost sight of our goals, however, and we never once thought that we would not attain them. But it was never easy." Ranked in the preseason as high as No. 8 in the nation, and with shortstop Trea Turner and left-hander Carlos Rodon sharing the cover of Baseball America's college preview issue with North Carolina's Kent Emanuel and Colin Moran, the Wolfpack did not get the season off to a flying start. Rodon, who went 9-0 with a 1.38 ERA as a freshman in 2012, began the 2013 campaign 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA through four starts. After allowing just two home runs in 114 innings all of 2012, he allowed three in six innings in a season-opening 6-3 loss to Appalachian State. Bothered by unseasonably cold weather in February and March, Rodon didn't hit his stride until April. Second baseman Logan Ratledge broke his left hand in the first game of the season, missed 13 games and didn't start to swing the bat with authority again until May. Turner broke a bone in his ankle in the first conference game of the year, missed 10 of the next 11 games, and was hampered by Avent led the Pack to its first College World Series berth in 45 years and a fifth-place national finish. photo by ken martin land to fall to 18-10. While the Pack never stood at 18-10 overall and 3-6 in the conference simultaneously, those two sets of numbers were the crux of Avent's rallying cry for his team. "The numbers 18-10 and 3-6 will be ingrained in my head forever," Avent said. "This is a league that doesn't allow you to dig out of a deep hole, and we started 3-6. And then you look up and you know who's coming after that. You go to Georgia Tech, where we've never had much success. You've got North Carolina, who was preseason No. 1 in the country and stayed No. 1 almost all year. You've got Florida State, who's always a great team under Mike Martin. "So you're 3-6 and you look at what's in front of you and you think, Wow!" The turnaround marked what arguably was Avent's best coaching job. After the loss to Maryland, the Pack rolled off 15 consecutive wins, the third-longest winning streak in school history and the longest in 10 years. That streak included ACC series sweeps of Virginia Tech, at Boston College and at Georgia Tech, the Wolfpack's first sweep ever of the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. The winning streak ended April 26 against North Carolina, but that was the team's only loss in April, a month that saw NC State go 15-1 overall, 8-0 on the road, 10-1 in the ACC and 7-1 against ranked teams. Avent kept his foot on the accelerator, and the victories just kept on coming. In fact, the Wolfpack lost just five more games the rest of the season, winning 17 of its last 22, including an 8-3 mark in postseason play (2-1 in the ACC Tournament and a 6-2 in the NCAA Tournament). Both the overall postseason record and the NCAA Tournament record are the best in program history. "We had some issues and we overcame them," Avent said. "Where we were is what we were having to deal with. That's why I talked so much about where we were and where we got to. As I've done exit interviews with the players, they feel the same way. "We'll never forget what we did those last 38 games, every game being intense, great drama, conference, non-conference, regional, super regional, College World Series. How this team performed the last 38 games was a feat that I will remember the rest of my life." ■ The Best Of The Rest 1. Shawn Rychcik, Softball — The first-year coach led an incredible turnaround faster than anyone expected. His team, which finished seventh in the ACC last year, won the program's second ACC crown and reached the title game of the NCAA Knoxville (Tenn.) Regional.The Wolfpack set nearly 40 team and individual marks despite playing 41 of its 56 games away from home. 2. Braden Holloway, Men's Swimming and Diving — The ACC Coach of the Year also rebuilt his program in no time. The second-year coach led his alma mater to its highest finish at the NCAA Championships since 1978-79 with a 15th-place showing. The Pack recorded the best NCAA showing of any ACC squad after finishing fifth at the conference meet. 3. Bryan Bunn, Volleyball — The third-year coach led his team to the NCAA Championships for the first time in 25 years, and the team recorded its first victorious NCAA set in school history. The team also posted 20 victories in back-to-back campaigns for the first time since 1995-96 and set a school record with 12 wins over conference foes. 4. Mark Stevenson, Gymnastics — The 33rd-year coach led his team to an EAGL Conference championship, its fifth since joining the league and first since the 2009 campaign, and its 11th straight NCAA regional bid.The team produced nine first-team All-EAGL selections and nine EAGL first-team All-Tournament honors, while Michaela Woodford was named the league Rookie of the Year. 5. Page Marsh,Women's Golf — It was a historic season under the 13th-year mentor, who finished second in the league's Coach of the Year voting.The squad recorded its highest finish at the ACC Championships in program history with a runner-up tally, and then tied for the highest NCAA regional seed in school history, when they opened at No. 8. The Pack missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships by one stroke. July 2013 ■ 133 132-133.Coach of the Year.indd 133 7/1/13 10:16 AM