When NC State closer Derrick Smith got the call from the bullpen to make his regional debut Saturday night, the flame-throwing sophomore entered in the eighth with the toughest task in South Carolina’s batting order: Cole Messina.
Just one day before, with the game on the line against James Madison, the Dukes elected to pitch to Messina, who clubbed a two-run blast in the ninth to force extra innings. That propelled the Gamecocks into the winner’s bracket and set the date with the Wolfpack.
So when Smith came in to face South Carolina’s power hitter, there was a sense of apprehension among the Pack faithful in the stadium. The Wolfpack only led by a run, and Messina was more than capable of tying the game with one swing.
But Smith, the Wolfpack’s light-out reliever as of late, didn’t make the same mistake that JMU did the day before. Instead of hanging a pitch right over the heart of the plate, Smith gave Messina a healthy dose of sliders.
And he only needed three of them.
Slider, slider, slider. Swing. Swing. Swing.
That threat was ended. From there on, Smith was able to record a 1.2 inning save with just one hit allowed and four strikeouts all on 27 pitches.
Smith, who pitched just three innings a year ago, has been the Wolfpack’s backend artist. He has embraced the role and is just one key cog in the Pack’s young bullpen that has been uber effective, earning a spot on the prestigious Team USA Collegiate National Team this summer.
“I think the whole coaching staff believes in me, I believe in myself and I just stay within myself and do it for my teammates,” Smith said of his performance. “I’m just building confidence and keep going from there.”
While he’s continuing to build in each outing, it seems like that has been infectious in the Wolfpack’s entire bullpen. Through two games of the Raleigh Regional, NC State has needed just three relievers total to cruise into the regional final Sunday evening against either South Carolina or JMU.
It enters the final with nearly every pitcher on the 27-man regional roster available and at the Wolfpack’s disposal to win the game.
And while the Pack has used nearly the minimum number of arms it would like to at this point of the weekend, the impressive part is that they’re all underclassmen. Smith is the oldest reliever the Pack has turned to with freshmen Jacob Dudan and Cooper Consiglio being the others to get the call into the game.
That trio has been the staple of the bullpen all season and it has the Wolfpack in likely the best spot it could be in with a chance to punch its ticket to a Super Regional.
Dudan logged three perfect innings with six strikeouts to earn his sixth save of the year in the regional opener against Bryant. Consiglio, meanwhile, gave the Pack 2.1 innings from the ‘pen against South Carolina with just two runs allowed on three hits with two strikeouts and a walk.
And Smith, well, he has been his usual self. He has not allowed an earned run in his last 16.1 innings of work. And as Smith has mowed down batters, including the Gamecocks’ Messina, he has logged 28 strikeouts with just five walks in that stretch.
“Everybody we’re putting out there right now we’ve got great confidence in,” NC State coach Elliott Avent said. “[Smith] likes moments like this, he’s very composed. He went out and worked his butt off this summer, so when you earn everything that you get, then it makes you comfortable out there no matter the situation.”
While the Wolfpack has immense confidence in its young bullpen, which has been the key to stabilizing games throughout much of the back half of the season as NC State surged through the ACC, stacking postseason wins helps too.
Avent, the team’s 28th-year coach, likes how his team has continued to build momentum.
“I think every win just gives you confidence,” Avent said. “Every series we played down the stretch, every win — sometimes even a loss, we know we didn’t play that bad against Duke. — you just keep building on what you do good. And then you try to find ways to do the little things to get you across the finish line.”
Although NC State’s bullpen is full of youthful faces, the moment has not been too big for them in the Raleigh Regional. Why? Well, the Wolfpack treated much of league play as a regional. It earned five ranked ACC series victories in that stretch — all against teams playing this weekend around the country.
That confidence has fueled the group of freshmen and sophomores. But as Avent put it, he doesn’t think the team has any first-year players on the team anymore. They’re battle-tested and experienced by this point in the year.
“We have a lot of rookies that are a reason we are here,” Avent said. “There’s a lot of veterans that are the reason we’re here, and they mesh very well with a lot of rookies that have given so much to this ball club. But at the end of the year, they’re not rookies any more.”
That mindset has been key in the regional, and now the Wolfpack has a chance to advance to the sixth Super Regional under Avent. It just needs to win one more game to do it — and the young bullpen will be there to close the door.
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