It was a jubilant atmosphere inside Sports & Social Cary Monday afternoon. NC State baseball knew it was already in the NCAA Tournament field — hosting a regional — after the selection committee announced that Sunday night.
But the unknown was who would be joining the Wolfpack in the Raleigh Regional. The red and white gathered in the middle of the restaurant, donning camouflage NC State hats on Memorial Day as it waited for its name to pop up.
Soon enough, it did.
NC State, the No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament, will host South Carolina, James Madison and Bryant this weekend for the opening rounds of the Road to Omaha. The Wolfpack will open with the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Friday night, while the Dukes and Gamecocks will square off earlier in the day at 2 p.m.
It is the Pack’s first time hosting a regional since 2018, which marks the first time any of the red and white’s roster has played a home game in the postseason.
For graduate left-hander Logan Whitaker, hosting the first weekend checked one of the Wolfpack’s goals it set in February to close his collegiate baseball career.
“It’s super exciting,” Whitaker said. “All of the guys are super pumped about hosting a regional. It’s something we discussed before the season, and now that it’s come to light is very exciting.”
While Whitaker had a smile across his face, that was the theme of the afternoon during the selection show watch party. NC State coach Elliott Avent, who has led the program for the last 28 years, had a grin just as big.
Although it marks the seventh time his team has hosted a regional since he arrived in Raleigh, Avent’s team this time around has dealt with a bevy of illnesses and injuries. That made it much more special for the coach as he watched his team rally around itself and earning a set of home games for the NCAA Tournament.
“It says a lot,” Avent said. “It’s a grind now. Any time you get to this place, it is a grind. We’ve had guys that played injured all year and never said a word and then we’ve had some devastating injuries. … They happened late in the year, and it can sometimes derail you, but it didn’t for this club. That says everything about this ball club. I can’t tell you how proud we are of them.”
While it has been an up and down journey through the regular season, the Wolfpack owns five ranked ACC series victories and that built the team’s resume to regional host. Now, NC State can enjoy the fruits that come along with hosting for the weekend.
“It’s awesome,” graduate third baseman Alec Makarewicz said. “We don’t have to travel, so that’s going to help with the sleep. Practicing on our own field is a lot more comfortable than going somewhere else.”
Avent also thought it was key to be a host.
“Hosting is big,” Avent said. “I think it says a lot, and to be a 10-seed, that shows you how close you were to being a national seed. … You see the teams that are in here, you realize how dangerous every team is in this tournament. We’re looking forward to getting started.”
As NC State prepares to welcome three other teams to Doak Field, the Wolfpack is ready to begin its march towards the program’s fourth trip to the Men’s College World Series. And the Pack is going to lean on what has worked to get to this point: enjoying the moment.
The season has been turbulent, yet the Wolfpack found significant success in weekend series. It did so by having fun and that is not expected to change entering the heart of the postseason.
“We’re just going to keep having fun,” Whitaker said. “Before the season started, it was about having fun. Now that we’re in the postseason, it’s a lot more fun. We get to keep having fun, and it’s going to be one of those things where we prepare for game one and then so on and so forth.”
The post No. 10 NC State ‘excited’ to host NCAA Regional, open with Bryant appeared first on On3.