The Wolfpacker

68 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY BRUCE WINKWORTH E ntering his 20th season as NC State's head baseball coach, Elliott Avent has fielded some excellent teams. Avent's 2013 Wolfpack went to the College World Series, and his 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2012 squads all were CWS-worthy. With a strong nucleus returning from last season's CWS contender, Avent's 20th NC State team has a chance — a chance, mind you — to rank among his very best. The 2016 Wolfpack will be talented, expe- rienced and very deep. "We've got a lot of people back who've done something before, and that makes you feel comfortable as a coach," Avent said. "We feel good about the depth. We feel good about the choices we have to replace the people who helped to make us so good last year. "But it's still new people in new roles." Avent will have to replace shortstop Logan Ratledge and center fielder Jake Fincher, both invaluable four-year starters, along with sparkplug right fielder Bubby Riley. Despite those losses, the Wolfpack has six starters back from the lineup that won 15 of its last 20 games in 2015 plus an army of hopefuls vying for playing time. The familiar faces include junior catcher Andrew Knizner (.317 batting average, five home runs and 42 runs batted in last season), junior first baseman Preston Pal- meiro (.305, seven, 49, plus a .456 slug- ging percentage and .381 on-base percent- age), senior second baseman Ryne Willard (.287, four, 20), sophomore shortstop Joe Dunand (.219, seven, 40) and sophomore outfielder Brock Deatherage (.291, one, 11, plus seven steals). Even with a proven returning nucleus, there was competition for just about ev- ery position on the field during the fall. Power-hitting senior catcher Chance Shepard (.214, six, 23 in 98 at-bats) had a terrific fall and will spell Knizner oc- casionally while also getting at-bats at DH. Shane Shepard, a powerful sophomore and Chance's younger brother, pushed Palmeiro so hard at first base in the fall that Avent was forced to try the younger Shepard in left field at times to get his bat in the lineup. Willard is the incumbent at second base, but also saw time at third. Sophomore glove man Stephen Pitarra and freshman hitting machine Xavier LeGrant pushed Willard for time at second base, while Wil- lard, LeGrant and sophomore Tommy De- Juneas all battled for time at third. Dunand's shift to shortstop was a key move. A standout defensive third baseman as a freshman, Dunand's superb hands, quick reflexes and powerful arm translate perfectly at shortstop. He was exceptional in the fall and should give the Pack a sound defensive anchor in the middle of the dia- mond. If the infield is deep, then the outfield is like the Continental Shelf, with seven legitimate names pushing their way up the depth chart, eight when counting Shane Shepard. Sophomore defensive whiz Josh McLain started most of the 2015 postsea- son in left field and should shift over to center to replace Fincher. Deatherage, who had a breakout summer in the Cape Cod League, is capable of playing all three out- field spots and will almost certainly play left or right. DeJuneas saw time in right field a year ago, and Garrett Suggs was the starter as a freshman in right in 2014 before red- shirting last spring. Redshirt freshman Storm Edwards plus true freshmen Brett Kinneman and Steven Oakley all played well in the fall. "We don't have a dominant hitter in that lineup, but one through nine we should be pretty good," Avent said. "We have some good options and competition at most posi- tions. As a coach, that's a good feeling." On the mound, NC State does not feature a high-ceiling Friday-night starter. Instead, ■ PREVIEW BASEBALL GUARDED OPTIMISM Experienced Roster Returns For Wolfpack Sophomore left-hander Brian Brown was a Freshman All-American last season after posting a 7-3 record and a 2.03 earned run average. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP

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