NC State and Kentucky are underway in their opening game at the College World Series in Omaha, and it’s been a minute since the Wolfpack were last in this position.
They’re wasting little time getting to work against the Wildcats, answering an early run surrendered to tie the game back up in the third inning.
Starting pitcher Sam Highfill has settled in after an adventurous first inning that saw him give up a run and throw more than 30 pitches.
“Well he means everything to our program. To pitch in this environment you need somebody that’s been out there before, steady nerves, and that’s Sam,” coach Elliott Avent said during an in-game interview. “You can see the rocky start he got off to in that first inning throwing so many pitches, and yet he calmed down. That’s Sam Highfill. So he means everything to our program.”
Highfill issued a walk to start both the second and third frames, but he was able to comfortably work around it both times by sitting down the next three batters.
Through three innings, Highfill was at 53 total pitches.
NC State plated its run in the top of the third inning after first baseman Garrett Pennington singled to left field, then advance to second base on a subsequent groundout. He scored from there after catcher Jacob Cozart singled to right field, knotting the game at 1-1.
For NC State, it’s all business now. But the Wolfpack celebrated their return trip to Omaha in style after taking down Georgia in the Athens Super Regional in three games.
“When they finished the dogpile and came over to me, I just turned to Mike Salamino and said, ‘Hey, call The Drover, tell them we’re coming,'” Avent relayed.
The Drover, of course, is a famous steakhouse in Omaha. Suffice it to say, it was a big hit with the guys.
“They had a blast there the first night,” Avent said. “Everybody should go to The Drover.”
If NC State can continue its strong play and down Kentucky, there will be more time to hit the steakhouses in Omaha. The game was tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning at the time of this writing.
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