NC State baseball wants to keep living the good life in NCAA Athens Super Regional
Outfielder Eli Serrano III was wearing an N.C. State T-shirt Thursday that pretty much summed up the mood of the Wolfpack baseball team.
On the front: “Life is good.”
It is for the Wolfpack, which was loading up the buses at Doak Field for the trip to Athens, Georgia, giving the Pack six hours of riding time to ponder what might be ahead in the NCAA Super Regional against the Georgia Bulldogs.
Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent scurried off to get a chicken sandwich for the road, as is his wont. The players seemed to have an extra bounce in their step as they loaded up their gear.
“Every win makes you a little more confident, every win makes you a little more happy,” Avent said.
The Pack (36-20) faces the Bulldogs (42-15) in the best-of-three series at Foley Field, and the players and coaches will have Friday to acclimate themselves to the park and the setting at the Southeastern Conference school.
Then, it’s on. Game 1 is Saturday at noon, with a berth in the 2024 College World Series — and the big trip to Omaha, Nebraska — on the line in the Super Regional.
Serrano III said Thursday the Wolfpack, which swept through the Raleigh Regional as the 10th national seed, is playing “really good baseball” and at the right time, in the biggest games. Pitching, hitting, defense ... it’s all there.
“It shows the hard work we put in is playing off now,” the Pack center fielder said. “We’re two games away from Omaha. All the parts are working right now and hopefully we can keep upping our game as we keep going.
“We beat top-5, top-10 teams in the country through this whole season. We have to go play a good Georgia team with Charlie Condon and the other guys there. It’s a tough road ahead and we have to keep going.”
Condon could be the best college player in the country — at least many MLB scouts think so. The 2024 SEC player of the year leads Division I with a .445 batting average and 36 home runs.
Condon, playing third base and batting second in the lineup, hit .500 as the Bulldogs swept three games in the Athens Regional last weekend. The 6-6 redshirt sophomore is leading the Bulldogs in RBIs (77), total bases (228) and slugging percentage (1.036).
Condon is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given each year to the best amateur baseball player in the country and sponsored by USA Baseball and the MLB Players Association.
Avent said Thursday the Wolfpack would stick with a pitching rotation that has had Sam Highfill taking the mound first, then Dom Fritton and Logan Whitaker. Behind them is a bullpen led by Derrick Smith, Jacob Dudan and others.
“We don’t change up much this time of the year,” Avent said. “We’re here because of what those guys did.”
Catching those pitchers and providing a reassuring presence behind the plate has been Jacob Cozart, a first-team All-ACC selection this season. The junior is a finalist for the Buster Posey Award for the top collegiate catcher in the nation. The other finalists, it was announced Thursday: Walker Janek of Sam Houston State and Ryan Stafford of Cal Poly.
Third baseman Alec Makarewicz has been named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Award for best college player. He twice has played in Super Regionals and fell short of the CWS each time while at East Carolina, but the graduate transfer believes the Pack has what it takes to advance.
“We’re definitely playing our best baseball,” Makarewicz said. “I think we’re relaxed. .I think the older guys have done a good job of keeping the younger guys on the same page.
“We’ve got to stick with what we’ve been doing. Stay tough and be ready to go.”
NCAA Athens Super Regional
Foley Field, Athens, Georgia
Saturday: Game 1, noon, ESPNU
Sunday: Game 2, noon, ESPNU
Monday: Game 3, if necessary, TBA
This story was originally published June 7, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
