The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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TRACKING THE PACK MAY/JUNE 2024 ■ 15 NC State pitching coach Clint Chrys- ler is in his sixth season with the Wolf- pack and has helped guide 11 players to the Major League Baseball Draft, in- cluding a pair of 15th-round selections last year. The Wolfpack's pitching this sea- son has "been up and down," Chrys- ler acknowledged in a recent interview with The Wolfpacker. As of April 21, the staff's 6.71 earned run average ranked 13th in the ACC. And yet, there have been a number of positive signs, in- cluding the emergence of sophomore relievers Shane Van Dam and Derrick Smith. Van Dam owns a team-best 2.90 ERA and 4-0 record, while Smith has 3 saves in his first season as a major con- tibutor. Here are the highlights of a Q&A with Chrysler on how this year's pitching staff has fared: What have been your takeaways from the pitching staff this season? "There have been times where I felt like we were pitching to our ability level, but obviously I feel like there have been times when we haven't. We're relying on a lot of young, inexperienced play- ers at times, especially with some of the situations we've been in. "But the one thing I can say is that these kids are competitive, they are passionate and they have the right things. It's just a matter of us continu- ing to work, and me continuing to do the best job I can to get the most out of them and utilize their skill sets. "If there's one thing that we haven't had as much as we've had in the past, it's been consistency. Some of that is experience, some of that is age, some of that is the fact that pitching in this league is hard. "This league, maybe more than ever, is deep, deep, deep, top to bottom. Ev- ery weekend is another top-10 RPI out- ing in our league, and those kids are go- ing out there and competing and giving it everything they've got. "For an 18-year-old against that level of competition and a lineup consist- ing of a lot of 22- and 23-year-olds, there are going to be some bumps and bruises. My hope and my thought is that in the long run, getting these guys out there and seasoning them and get- ting them more and more comfortable in big situations is going to pay huge dividends going forward in the confer- ence season, hopefully into the ACC Tournament and beyond." SUNY Cortland transfer reliever Shane Van Dam has been big for NC State. How did you discover him, especially since he had not pitched much at any level? "Shane's backstory is a little bit unique. He's a Northeast kid from New Jersey, and he actually went to [The State University of New York at] Cortland, a Division III school, as a two-sport ath- lete. He was a quarterback and a baseball player. "In high school, he was as much an outfielder and hitter as he was a pitcher. He was very, very raw on the mound. I think he decided after his freshman year that the two-sport thing was no longer of a lot of interest to him. He felt like he had a higher ceiling as a baseball player. "When you're at the D-III level, you don't go in the transfer portal, you ask for permission to contact. He got that from SUNY Cortland, and once that was procured, we had a connection with his high school with Rob Chamra, who played here. He's a Cranford High School guy as well. "Once Shane went through the chan- nels to get his permission to contact, we were in contact with those guys. We got some video, and then I got on a plane and flew up to New Jersey early last summer. We turned him around and got him and his dad on campus shortly thereafter, and the rest is history." Sophomore closer Derrick Smith has seemed to have found his pitch arsenal down the stretch. What has it been like to watch his growth this season? "I'm very, very happy for Derrick. He was a guy who didn't get a ton of oppor- tunities with us last year. He stayed the course. He went to summer ball at home, pitched 45 innings and kind of found himself a little bit. Just the experience of being on the mound was beneficial, and he came back and had a solid fall for us and a solid early spring. "And then he was a little up and down early in the year, but a lot like these other guys, he stayed the course. He's worked, his attention to detail is very high and his work ethic in the weight room is re- ally good. "When you put in the work, there's more belief. When you feel comfortable and you're as mentally and physically prepared as you can be, then there's go- ing to be a lot more of a calm confidence that's going to come over you when it means the most. Confidence breeds confidence, and success breeds confi- dence. "For Derrick to have a couple of the outings that he's had recently helps him be more comfortable and to be better in those big spots." — Noah Fleischman SITTING DOWN WITH: Pitching Coach Clint Chrysler Chrysler joined coach Elliott Avent's NC State baseball staff in 2018. A native of Clear Lake, Texas, he spent eight seasons as an assistant at Winthrop before arriving in Raleigh. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS