North Carolina State University took the field with a limited roster Friday afternoon at the College World Series.
The Wolfpack face Vanderbilt in the double-elimination tournament, needing a single win to advance to the final best-of-three series for a chance at the national championship.
That run was stalled by COVID protocols, though, and the Pack fielded only nine position players and four pitchers from a normal roster of 36 when the first pitch was thrown just after 3 p.m.
The game was delayed for about an hour after the team issued this statement:
An undisclosed number of players from the team have been put into COVID-19 protocol and will be unavailable for today’s game.
NC State, the NCAA and appropriate parties and working together to monitor the situation.
Sources told WRAL News that at least one player tested positive for COVID-19. N.C. State did not name players involved or define whether they were out due to a positive test or simply coronavirus exposure. It is unclear how long any quarantine would last.
ESPN reported that second baseman J.T. Jarrett, from Greensboro, was “no longer with the team.” In an interview earlier in the week, coach Elliot Avent said Jarrett and others had shown symptoms of illness. “This bug seems to be floating around,” he said.
Avent told ESPN that he didn’t know until about an hour before the game what players would and would not be available. He said players would be tested again Friday, and he hopes to have more men in the dugout should State play Saturday.
The Pack beat Vandy 1-0 on Monday. Vanderbilt (46-16) is the defending champions, having won in 2019, the last time the College World Series was played.
If State wins Friday, they advance to the final best-of-3 series in Omaha, Neb., and play for the first national title in program history and the school’s first team title since the men’s basketball team won it all in 1983.
If they lose to Vanderbilt, they get another shot at the Commodores on Saturday afternoon.
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