Elliott Avent has had 25 teams at NC State. None quite like this.
The Wolfpack is going back to the College World Series, after a dramatic 3-2 win at top-ranked Arkansas on Sunday night.
Shortstop Jose Torres hit a solo home run in the ninth inning off of Arkansas ace Kevin Kopps to take the best-of-3 Super Regional series on the road.
It’s the first trip to Omaha, Neb. for college baseball’s national championship since 2013 for NC State, and third in program history, but this team has cut a unique path.
“This is just a committed group,” Avent said after the win. “They’re tough and they’re smart.”
That 2013 team had superstars in shortstop Trea Turner and pitcher Carlos Rodon. This team has pieced it together as a true collective and with uncommon resiliency.
Torres hit the big home run but Jonny Butler, Matt Willadsen, Chris Villaman and Evan Justice all played equal roles on Sunday.
The Wolfpack (35-18) started 1-8 in ACC play, had its hearts broken in the ACC championship game by Duke two weeks ago in Charlotte and was pounded 21-2 by the Razorbacks (50-13) in the first game of the Super Regional on Friday against the No. 1 overall team in the 64-team NCAA tournament field.
Each time, the Wolfpack has had an answer.
“They believed early on when we were 1-8 that we could rebound and they stuck with it,” Avent said.
Arkansas turned to Kopps, the SEC pitcher of the year, for his first start of the season. Kopps had allowed only six runs in 81-plus innings this season.
Butler hit a two-run home run in the third inning off of Kopps to stake the Wolfpack to a 2-1 lead until the seventh inning.
Those were the only two runs NC State would get on Kopps, who went eight and a third innings, until Torres went deep to left-center for the late lead.
Justice, who pitched the final two innings, was able to close the door on Arkansas’ potent lineup.
Willadsen, a freshman, allowed one unearned run in four innings for the Wolfpack. Willadsen also started in the ACC championship game, a 1-0 loss to Duke on May 30.
Willadsen did his job against Duke and did it again on Sunday in front of 11,000 fans at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark.
Arkansas leftfielder Cayden Wallace homered off of Villaman in the seventh inning to tie the game at 2-2.
But NC State’s bullpen, after getting rocked in Game 1, was equal to the task in Games 2 and 3.
The Wolfpack bounced back with a 6-5 win in Game 2 on Saturday and then closed out the SEC champions on Sunday.
Torres hit a home run in each game of the Super Regional. The Wolfpack bats, save for Game 1 against Arkansas, have come alive since the 1-0 loss to Duke in the ACC title game.
The Wolfpack went on the road to Louisiana Tech in the regional round and went 3-0 with 30 runs in three games.
One sign that bodes well for the Wolfpack’s chances in the CWS: They have a 19-4 record road record this season.
