TIM PEELER: New Faces, Top Pitching to Define Pack in '07

BY TIM PEELER

RALEIGH, N.C. – With the start of the baseball season just 10 days away, NC State coach Elliott Avent is anxious to see how his team, which returns just three starters in the field, will develop over the first two months of the season.

“We are ready to get cranked up,” said Avent, whose team opens its season on Feb. 9 at Doak Field at Dail Park against William & Mary in the first of a three-game series.

And, with a team that is expected to be deep with talented pitching, why wouldn’t he be? Not only does he have preseason All-America pick Andrew Brackman, a 6-11 power pitcher who could be one of the top players taken in the June draft of amateur players, he also has Jeff Stallings, who returns after sitting out last year from reconstructive elbow surgery, along with Eric Surkamp, Eryk McConnell, Kyle Rutter and Joey Cutler.

But what Avent doesn’t know is how effective his offense and defense will be in the early part of the season. Last year, the Wolfpack was stocked with reliable offense, with seven regular starters who hit .325 or better. First baseman Aaron Bates led the team with 10 home runs, while center fielder Matt Camp had a team-high .387 batting average and third baseman Matt Mangini had a team-high 60 RBIs. Designated hitter Jon Still, right fielder Brian Aragon and defensive wizard shortstop Jonathan Diaz were also part of the Wolfpack’s regular lineup in the 40-23 season that culminated in the fourth consecutive trip to an NCAA Regional.

All of them are gone, however, with just second baseman Ramon Corona, catcher Caleb Mangum and left fielder Ryan Pond returning to the lineup. That means Avent will rely on a host of newcomers in the field, either from a mix of returning reserve players from last season or from the 16 new recruits signed by new associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Tom Holliday.

While Avent likes the talent on hand, he knows that it may take a while for it to gel.

“Teams with three returning starters don’t have any surety about how they are going to play in the field, run the bases, all the little things in baseball that make you a winner,” Avent said. “If you have seen a guy do and he has been there and done it, then he knows what to expect and you know what to expect. But when you have different guys in different places, you don’t know how they will react with certain situations. It might be wonderful, or it may be a growing time and a learning curve.

“There are small things that win baseball games and a small thing that will lose a baseball games. So learning how certain guys will react to certain situations is key. And they have to be ready for all 60 games. Some of our guys haven’t done that before. But from what we have seen so far, we think they are as tested as we can get them and we think they will be ready for the challenge.”

Season tickets are on sale now for the coming campaign, which includes home series against ACC opponents Maryland, Virginia Tech, Florida State, North Carolina and Clemson. Tickets are $125 for adults and $100 for seniors. Among the benefits of season tickets include reserved seats for all home games.

“We know that this is ACC basketball country and it has been since I was a small boy,” said Avent. “We are very proud of that tradition and heritage in basketball and how football has grown over the last 10 years. But we also think that baseball is an important supplement to the year-round athletics package at NC State.

“I’d like to encourage people to come out to support NC State baseball. Our chances of being successful don’t hinge on the support of the fans, but it surely makes the journey easier to have a lot of people in the stands behind you. I think our guys are fun to watch. They play hard, they play against good competition and there will be guys on the field that will be in the major leagues in the next three or four years. It’s always nice to say, ‘Hey, I remember when I saw that guy on a Saturday afternoon at Doak Field at Dail Park.’”

All 56 regular-season games and the ACC Tournament, which is scheduled for May 23-27 in Jacksonville, Fla., will be broadcast on WKNC 88.1-FM and on the PACK PASS portion of GoPack.com.