Pack9 Takes One Step Closer

RodonVsUNC

In the fourth meeting of the year on the diamond between two top ten triangle teams, a game which had been hyped quite a bit even by the national media types leading up to it, the NC State Wolfpack (50-14) held up its end of the bargain quite nicely.

The North Carolina Tar Heels (57-11)?  Not so much.

Carlos Rodon (10-2) obviously remembered his Superman cape when he packed for Omaha as the sophomore Wolfpack lefty would save one of his best performances for the big stage.

Rodon would go the distance on this day vs the Heels, yielding only a single run while scattering five hits, most of which came long after the issue had already been all but decided by the Pack’s offense.  He also struck out 8 Tar Heels while walking but 2.  Incidentally, Carlos needed only 108 pitches to put the Heels away on this day, a very economical complete game outing for him.

And as nice as it was to see Rodon’s gem, one can’t say that it was unexpected.  No, the better news of the day had to be that the Pack’s offense would also show up on Sunday in Omaha.  Big time.

Facing ACC Pitcher of the Year (and All-American, and recent MLB Draftee, etc. etc.) Kent Emanuel, the Wolfpack hitters showed no signs of being in awe of Omaha or the Heels’ Emanuel.

Nor did they show the Carolina lefty any mercy.

The Pack would jump on Emanuel early, plating one run in the 1st inning when a leadoff walk to Trea Turner coupled with his 28th stolen base of the year and a Tarran Senay 2 out RBI single would give the Pack first blood.

Then in the 3rd inning the Pack’s hitters broke the game open.  Six wolves would reach base in the inning (5 hits, 1 walk) with four coming around to score, giving the Pack and Rodon a 5 run cushion and chasing Emanuel from the bump.  It was more than needed.  The Pack would add a single run in the 8th, and two more in the 9th to build an 8-0 advantage before the Heels would break thru for a single run in their half of the 9th for the final 8-1 margin.

And perhaps best of all on this day?  It was the lower part of the Wolfpack batting order that came through on the big stage.

Logan Ratledge knocked in 2 runs and scored another on a 2 for 5 effort, while Brett Williams (2 for 4, RBI, double, 2 runs) and Bryan Adametz (2 for 4, RBI, run, HBP) would also both enjoy productive outings.  Catcher Brett Austin (1 for 3, RBI, double) would find a way out of his recent slump, and thirdbaseman Grant Clyde (1 for 1, RBI, run, BB, HBPx3) would reach base safely all five times he appeared at the plate.

The win was the Pack’s 50th of the season, a Wolfpack Baseball first.

The Pack’s defense was error-free for the 3rd straight contest.

Links:

Rodon’s Gem Lifts Pack Past UNC in CWS Opener, 8-1 (GoPack.com)

Box Score

Wolfpack, Carlos Rodon dominate UNC Tar Heels, 8-1, in CWS opener (CharlotteObserver.com)

OMAHA, Neb. Elliott Avent went around shaking hands with anyone who’d reciprocate. He offered to buy reporters the finest Omaha steaks in a town known for them. He spoke about Carlos Rodon with emotion, like he was a son.

It was Father’s Day on Sunday, and Avent, the N.C. State coach, acted like a proud papa in the moments after his team’s 8-1 victory against North Carolina in the College World Series. Avent had waited his whole life for this, his first game coaching in Omaha on college baseball’s grandest stage.

[snip]

Rodon, the Wolfpack’s ace left-hander, pitched a complete game. The sophomore allowed five hits, one run, struck out eight and then acted afterward like it was no big deal. Asked why he has a penchant for pitching his best when the stakes are at their highest, Rodon provided a simple explanation.

“You know, this is the College World Series,” he said. “It doesn’t get any better than this, so why not bring your ‘A’ game? …

“When I come out, I’m going to compete. And stages like this, I’m going to compete even more – give it more than I can.”

The victory puts N.C. State in the winners’ bracket in its four-team, double-elimination pool in the College World Series. The Wolfpack (50-14) will play Tuesday night against UCLA, which beat No.4 national seed Louisiana State 2-1.

Big performance on big stage: NC State’s Rodon shuts down hot-hitting Tar Heels in CWS (NCAA.com)

NC State downs North Carolina; UCLA outlasts LSU in CWS openers (FoxNews.com)

Rodon, N.C. State handcuff North Carolina in CWS (USAToday.com)

NC State’s Rodon looks like top pick, future ace (MLB.com)

PHOTOS: N.C. State – UNC 06.16.13 (CharlotteObserver.com)

The Pack now moves into the winner’s bracket of the CWS and will face the UCLA Bruins (45-17) at 8pm on Tuesday evening.  UCLA managed to outlast LSU on Sunday evening, taking advantage of Tiger miscues while notching the victory by a score of 2-1.

The Tigers and the Tar Heels, two of the favorites heading to Omaha, are both now relegated to the loser’s bracket game on Tuesday (3pm) with the loser of that game making an early exit from Omaha.

Who’dda thunk it?

Next Up….Bear Meat!!!!

About Wufpacker

A 2nd generation alumnus and raised since birth to be irrationally dedicated to all things NC State. Class of '88 and '92.

Baseball Big Four Rivals

65 Responses to Pack9 Takes One Step Closer

  1. Wufpacker 06/17/2013 at 9:55 AM #

    ^ Ha! That’s awesome!!! Is that yours? And if so may we share it here for those that aren’t fb friendly?

  2. CaptainCraptacular 06/17/2013 at 10:10 AM #

    One of the our guys quoted mentioned that playing unc-ch (university of no classes at cheater hill) helped keep the first game nervousness down due to familiarity.

    I am glad it was holes we faced Sunday. May have seen a different ball game had it been against South Carolina.

  3. Wufpacker 06/17/2013 at 10:11 AM #

    Also….

    @maverick_ncsu

    A huge and heart felt THANK YOU to you my friend. I am in receipt of your way too flattering msg and am humbled by your kind words.
    🙂

  4. Mike 06/17/2013 at 10:29 AM #

    One thing that bothered me – all day yesterday during the game, watching with my sister and family for a Father’s Day get together, she would read me the tweets (I am not on Twitter). They all seemed slanted in the blue favor. This is not a surprise but still, one would expect unbiased coverage from a national news outlet…….sorry, I forgot, they are a PR machine and not legit news source.

    So this AM, I wake up to read the N&O articles, written by whom? The UNX beat writer! Did the Pack beat writer go? Evidently not, as Carter wrote all the articles. One more slap in the face, but we will see what happens now that the boys in blue are looking up at the winners bracket.

  5. wolfpacknoxville 06/17/2013 at 10:36 AM #

    The media bias bothers me too, especially the very insulting questioning of Rodon committing to us. However, the only way to silence the critics and gain more national respect is to win. Sunday helped a lot with that. Very proud!

  6. Gowolves 06/17/2013 at 11:01 AM #

    “The Wolfpack players might have tried to do too much in that 18-inning defeat last month. The moment might have overwhelmed them.”

    “But N.C. State hitters thrived on Sunday in the most pressure-packed of situations. The complexion of the game might have been different had Tarran Senay not driven in Trea Turner with two outs in the first inning.

    It might have remained closer for longer if Grant Clyde hadn’t come through with a two-out single to left in the third inning. Clyde’s hit was the first of three consecutive that drove in runs. Moments later, Emanuel, the ACC Pitcher of the Year, was out of the game.”

    From Andrew Carter at N&O(fish wrap)

    Those paragraphs are the dumbest think I have ever read. Of course it is from a UNC* homer. The moment was never going to overwhelm them. They are a great(Pack) team but everyone expects UNC* to be the winner of this CWS. The Pack had no pressure and could play loose. All the pressure was on UNC* to not screw the pooch again.

    If a bullfrog had wings it wouldn’t bump his ass! Those comments were stupid. What if this what if that. What if UNC* had actually played a tough home/away balanced schedule this year? What if their prized pitcher had not run out of gas a month ago! UNC* is paper tiger and got beat by the better team. End of story and let’s move on to the next game. This team is there to win the whole thing and not some consolation prize by beating the holes!

  7. TheCOWDOG 06/17/2013 at 11:07 AM #

    Too sensitive boys. You need to know that there were a bunch of baseball guys that had State favored yesterday.

    How Rodon wound up at State is a legitimate question for a national audience, when one considers the pitching stranglehold the other guys have enjoyed for a decade.

    Did that sign read Valet Parking?

  8. packalum44 06/17/2013 at 11:16 AM #

    We HAVE to beat UCLA to have a realistic chance to stay alive. Very small chance we could have beat LSU without Rodon…our chances to win Tuesday went from 20% to 50%.

    IF we lose, we will face one of the two best teams in the tournament on Thursday, and likely lose that game without our ACE who probably won’t be ready to pitch until Friday…I hope.

    If we win tomorrow probably have Rodon on the mound Friday….win and we are in the Championship game.

    I feel strangely optimistic…2 wins away from a Championship series…I’m gonna go splash some cold water in my face and suggest everyone else do the same.

    NCStateShit is lurking around the corner, and springs up at the worst possible moment, when State fans’ hope is at historically high peaks.

    http://linemakers.sportingnews.com/mlb/2013-06-14/college-world-series-cws-odds-picks-unc-vs-nc-state-ucla-lsu-pitching-matchups

  9. packalum44 06/17/2013 at 12:11 PM #

    I have no idea how we got Rodon either. We do not consistently have top 25 recruiting classes, much less top 10 classes, like many programs.

    Our Senior and Sophomore classes were both highly regarded IIRC.

    The Sophomore class (Rodon/Turner) was ranked top 5.

    If we want to continue going to Omaha then we have to recruit at a high level consistently. To recruit that well, we need to have top tier fiscal support.

    Teams in California, Texas and Florida enjoy a tremendous recruiting advantage of favorable weather and extremely large population. (all 3 states have over twice the population of NC).

    Southern states enjoy a recruiting advantage over Midwestern and northern states, where baseball is less popular, due in part to cultural differences which itself is due in part by a colder climate.

    Basically a SWAT analysis says we are somewhere in the middle in terms of inherent advantages. To compete with Miami and Florida State for example, we simply need to spend more $$ to enjoy a similar level of recruiting.

    I want us to start taking ECU’s and Coastal Carolina’s recruits, and competing for UNC’s and Cocks’ guys. We do that and we’ll sit at the big boy table on a regular basis.

  10. TheAliasTroll 06/17/2013 at 12:18 PM #

    Vegas had the Pack as a +175 underdog (risk 100 to win 175) yesterday.

    We all knew that game was a coin flip with Rodon on the mound but a national audience sees that (#1) in front of UNC and the money comes pouring in on em, so Vegas more than likely made a butt load of $$$ off yesterdays game.

    Hey man, keep winning games is all we need to be focusing on.

  11. PackerInRussia 06/17/2013 at 12:25 PM #

    What a nice, dominant performance yesterday. Once they got 2 runs, it was like a luxury for Rodon. I was getting punchy as it was quite late at night here, but at one point did he strike a guy out on 3 pitches looking? I know the third strike was looking, but I was losing it a little bit and may have been imagining things. All I know is that K is for Carlos and that’s good enough for me.

  12. tjfoose1 06/17/2013 at 1:19 PM #

    I was in Vegas. The line I got was $100 to win $180. Easiest win all week.

  13. MP 06/17/2013 at 1:21 PM #

    Has Caulton Tudor issued any updates on how we are supposed to behave now?

  14. Gowolves 06/17/2013 at 1:34 PM #

    I didn’t want to come right out and say it(jinx) but all along I knew they would win. I even thought it wouldn’t be close. I had a feeling a blowout was on the horizon. The bats were close to being on in the last game against Rice. Rodon was well Rodon. I think what irks me about the whole thing is that (doesn’t shock me) these TV analysts/guru’s put no effort and finding out the history of NC State’s program. When they say how did they get Carlos. Look what the program has done in the last ten years. It has not been UNC* level of success but it hasn’t been bad either. The Pack has put its share of pitchers into the league. Say what you want about Avent. Don’t assume that everyone wants to go to UNC* Just lazy in my mind. I think Carlos committed early on in his recruitment.

  15. compsciwolf 06/17/2013 at 1:45 PM #

    Regarding pitchers choosing to come to NC State – let’s not forget in 2006 Tom Holliday joined the staff and is now the associate head coach/pitching coach. I imagine that addition has helped the team a lot and might be a big reason some of the kids choose to come play for NC State.

  16. Wufpacker 06/17/2013 at 3:39 PM #

    Since we haven’t yet heard back from moreforw, I decided to make a couple of presumptions..that the pic he shared the link to was either his or that he had permission AND/OR that regardless of that, whomever was the rightful owner knew his risks when he posted it publicly on the interwebz….

    Thusly, courtesy of moreforw….

  17. ryebread 06/17/2013 at 3:41 PM #

    I was proud of the team yesterday. I just hope we don’t think that we’ve done all we hoped to do this season (i.e. be in the CWS and then to take it to UNC).

    We have a shot at something really, really special. The three “better” teams in the CWS than us all already have losses. I don’t look around and see any one dominant conference or team. It is there for the taking.

    I hope we’re ready Tuesday night. UCLA will bring it’s A game. We’re now carrying the banner for the league.

  18. CaptainCraptacular 06/17/2013 at 3:52 PM #

    Sccording to the ‘scores’ for Tuesday @ ncaa.com, it looks like we are the home team for the UCLA game. Same for LSU. Anyone know if this is confirmed?

  19. maverick_ncsu 06/17/2013 at 4:03 PM #

    Per a badly written article last week, the Heels fans that are there should be pulling for us to beat UCLA and get one step closer to the CWS championship “for the good of the conference.” I haven’t seen him write that column just yet. I’m sure it will be written tonight for tomorrow’s news.

  20. Wufpacker 06/17/2013 at 4:57 PM #

    A 7 run 4th inning for Oregon State gives them a 10-0 cushion after four and is making Louisville look like a good bet to be the first team ousted from Omaha.

  21. old13 06/17/2013 at 5:08 PM #

    Louisville has yet to score a single run in 13 innings of CWS play!

    And, as soon as I say that, they manage to score a single run!

  22. Wufpacker 06/17/2013 at 5:18 PM #

    Did he just liken us to a little league team?

    EDIT – I’m seriously asking, I have the sound off with captions on and only saw what they were saying as it popped off the screen.

  23. Wufpacker 06/17/2013 at 5:22 PM #

    ‘Ville gets one back…10-1 after 5.

  24. Pack78 06/17/2013 at 5:36 PM #

    Looks like we may see Nick Vander Tuig on the hill tomorrow night for the Bruins…season stats are similar to Plutko who shut down LSU.

    Geaux Tigers, send the Cheats home…

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