“Morning After” Webrun

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Not doing my own write up on this one.  No, not because we lost.  I’m not a sore loser.  Well, mostly.  Just have a busy day today and tomorrow so I’ll leave it to the guys who actually get paid for it.

But of course we did lose.  Now we move on.

Thursday, 8pm, ESPN.  Pack vs Heels for the 5th time this year.  So far each team has taken 2 apiece so maybe it’s appropriate.

Loser goes home, winner must beat UCLA twice to make the championship series.

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Tonight at 8pm on ESPN, Oregon State and Indiana go at it for the right to have to beat Mississippi State twice in the other bracket.

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Wolfpack Edged 2-1, Awaits UNC Thursday (GoPack.com)

Box Score

Post Game Presser Transcript

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More Links

NC State falls to UCLA 2-1, will meet UNC again at CWS (CharlotteObserver.com)

Pitching and defense carried the Bruins (46-17) to this point, and it carried them again on Tuesday night. They threw out a runner at home in the third inning, and then left fielder Christoph Bono, who entered the game as a defensive replacement, preserved UCLA’s lead with an over-the-shoulder catch in left field in the eighth inning.

Bono’s catch effectively ended the Wolfpack’s final scoring chance. Leadoff batter Trea Turner came to the plate with runners on first and second with one out, and he drove Dave Berg’s pitch to deep left. But Bono caught it on the run, near the warning track.

Off the bat, it appeared Turner might have hit the pitch well enough to send it over the fence for a go-ahead three-run home run.

“I was dumb enough to (think it was out),” Turner said. “That’s about as good as I can hit a ball right. And unfortunately it fell a few feet short and that could have been the difference in the game.”

Berg, one of the best closers in the country, then struck out Jake Fincher to end the inning and leave the two runners stranded. Berg, who entered the game with a 0.87 ERA in 47 appearances this season, earned his 23rd save of the season. That ties an NCAA single-season record.

UCLA slips past NC State; North Carolina eliminates LSU (FoxNews.com)

UCLA edges NC State at College World Series (SI.com)

Nick Vander Tuig, UCLA edge NC State in College World Series (ESPN.com)

Vander Tuig powers UCLA past North Carolina State (Omaha.com)

UCLA beats N.C. State, 2-1, to move on at the College World Series (NOLA.com)

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A little something to lighten the mood…

And another…

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Let’s Go Pack!!!

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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 Miscellaneous & Fun Stuff Multimedia

84 Responses to “Morning After” Webrun

  1. StateMan 06/19/2013 at 10:18 AM #

    Who pitches tomorrow?

  2. DC_wolf 06/19/2013 at 10:23 AM #

    Tall order to beat the Heels 2-in-a-row, especially after how we beat them – revenge will definitely be in their hearts. But this team has continued to surprise me all year; they’re playing like a top 10 team & definitely deserve to be in Omaha.

    A shame the bats wents cold last night: after the opening game I was hoping we had some offensive mo… but you have to tip your hats to the Bruins: that ball Turner hit would have been out of Dail park; the catch Bono made was a heckofa good 1 – we’d be sitting pretty otherwise.

    I’m all in…

  3. old13 06/19/2013 at 10:29 AM #

    “Who pitches tomorrow?”

    I know almost as much about baseball as I do about brain surgery. But I’d pitch Ogburn or Stone and have the bullpen ready from the get-go. Rodon could probably pitch, but I think it better to save him for a possible rematch with UCLA and a good chance for a (necessary) no-hitter. Plus Rodon should probably have another day of rest. Hopefully the Pack can generate some more good offense against the Hells and not need a shutout to defeat them again.

  4. Wufpacker 06/19/2013 at 10:36 AM #

    Who pitches tomorrow will be interesting indeed.

    I suspect Rodon has been in Avent’s and Holliday’s ears since the game ended last night, and some folks who know baseball very well seem convinced that him going is the likely call.

    We’ll see.

  5. maverick_ncsu 06/19/2013 at 10:38 AM #

    Still seems like it came down to us beating ourselves. I’m not one of those that says that it was all on us and that UCLA didn’t play well enough to earn the win, but when I look at the missed opportunities, it seems like we did this to ourselves as opposed to just getting beat by a better team.

    Thrown out at home hurts, but as a baseball guy who was always better at defense and base running, I can understand why he paused at third and that the ball took a nice bounce for the catcher. Also, we gave them their two runs…well basically, with the walks and wild pitch. And then in the 8th, you can’t get the guys over with the sac bunt, which really hurt because Turner’s long drive would have been the sac fly to tie the game.

    Just seems to hurt more when it feels like we beat ourselves.

  6. theghost 06/19/2013 at 10:48 AM #

    would sure love to see Emanuel’s tired arm again, the way he’s been pitching.

  7. old13 06/19/2013 at 10:48 AM #

    Yes, maverick, but they were not bonehead plays. Against most teams, our offense would have overcome those mistakes most of the time. To me, the most consistent problem last night was batters not being able to lay off the high fastballs out of the strike zone. All three of Austin’s strikeouts, and at least two of the others, plus several popups, came on that pitch. Just thought that one thing could have given us more of a chance for more offense as most of our batters are line-drive and hard grounder hitters.

  8. redisgood 06/19/2013 at 10:57 AM #

    I hope Avent resists the urge to pitch Rodon. Stone’s a lefty, the park is a hitter’s graveyard, and we have great defense. Stone will do just fine.

  9. maverick_ncsu 06/19/2013 at 11:00 AM #

    ^ Agreed. As good as he is, pitch Stone and hopefully we have Rodon for Friday and maybe Tuesday.

  10. Mike 06/19/2013 at 11:05 AM #

    I am not sure who pitches Thursday but here is the logic I am thinking if I am Avent/Holliday.

    If we lose, there is no tomorrow. Go with the ace to survive and advance and take chances later. Does no good to save the ace for the game that never happens.

    The Heels are a better hitting team than UCLA. Throw the ace against the better hitters, who he has proven he can shut down. Take your chances with lesser pitchers against lesser hitters.

    The big question here – is Rodon ready to take the hill? In the pros, Sunday/Thursday is done frequently. In college it is a little different but I think Carlos takes the ball even if he has to body slam Avent to get it.

  11. theghost 06/19/2013 at 11:07 AM #

    As for the baserunning error last night – I could see on TV that the ball was way high when it came out of his hand. Armstrong was standing flat footed on the bag as the ball sailed 60 feet over his head. If either he or the 3rd base coach are paying any attention at all, he should’ve already been several steps off the bag when it hit the backstop, and would’ve scored easily, giving us 2 and probably 3 runs in the inning.

  12. maverick_ncsu 06/19/2013 at 11:21 AM #

    Mike, I can go with your logic on the pitching, especially since the UCLA hitters are not normally as good as the Heels. But I thought I was reading somewhere that Rodon has not pitched much this year on 3 days rest, but he did not throw as many pitches last outing as he has in many of his starts.

    I don’t know what the right move is, but if I were the Heels and I saw him on the mound tonight, I would be a little downtrodden before I even started the game.

  13. theghost 06/19/2013 at 11:23 AM #

    If you’re the holes, who do you want Avent to throw? It’s Stone all the way – they want no more of Rodon. I think you give Carlos the ball.

    Do it for Skye. Do it for Chaz. Do it for America.

  14. Wufpacker 06/19/2013 at 11:23 AM #

    “If we lose, there is no tomorrow. Go with the ace to survive and advance and take chances later. Does no good to save the ace for the game that never happens.

    The Heels are a better hitting team than UCLA. Throw the ace against the better hitters, who he has proven he can shut down. Take your chances with lesser pitchers against lesser hitters.”

    Bada Bing.

  15. coach13 06/19/2013 at 11:40 AM #

    All on us. I know the pitching is good but the inability to bunt effectively is a pieve of mine. Even with the over the shoulder catch in the 8th, shoulda been tied. Serious bunting practice between now and Thursday if me.

  16. blpack 06/19/2013 at 11:41 AM #

    Hate we are in this position. Throw Stone and then use Rodon to get us to the make or break third game with UCLA. We play our game, we win Thursday and get our shots at the Bruins.

  17. coach13 06/19/2013 at 11:45 AM #

    I would not fault Avent for Stone or Rodon. My concern is do they “figure out Rodon” in game 5? They just saw him for 9 innings.

  18. TeufelWolf 06/19/2013 at 11:52 AM #

    If Rodon’s arm is rested enough to pitch then it’s a no brainier. It’s all or nothing. Save him for what?

  19. BJD95 06/19/2013 at 11:58 AM #

    I wouldn’t even consider using Rodon if it wasn’t the Holes.

    But it is the Holes. Ugh.

  20. TheCOWDOG 06/19/2013 at 11:59 AM #

    Mike…theghost , you just probably extended my posting days. Absolutely A pluses to the both of you. From the astute observation on the overthrow, to the absolute necessity for Rodon to take the pill, and the precise reasons why.

    Cap off, and golf clap. Wuf knows why I’m so pleased with you two.

  21. old13 06/19/2013 at 11:59 AM #

    Guess it comes down to which team do you think we can generate more offense against as far as pitching goes. If the crystal ball shows we can get 8 runs against U*NC again, I wouldn’t pitch Rodon against them. But if we pitch Rodon against U*NC and win, who shuts out UCLA (twice?)

    On the other hand, if you hold back Rodon for UCLA, he might not be ready to go again until the third game of the final 2 of 3 series.

    What we really need is for a NCSU biologist to quickly clone Rodon twice!

  22. BJD95 06/19/2013 at 12:15 PM #

    I can live with UCLA beating us. Not the Holes.

    The other thing to consider is that Rodon hasn’t really worked on 4 days’ rest anymore than 3. So it’s a bit unchartered whether he throws Thursday or Friday. So I could see rolling the dice tomorrow.

    No way do I consider using him again until Game 2 of the championship series. This 3 days’ rest is a one-time thing only.

  23. nav 06/19/2013 at 12:26 PM #

    I wanted to cry yesterday when Turner’s hit in the 8th fell short. That f*&king ballpark sucks in Omaha. Why play the CWS in a park where hitters, which is a big part of the games fun, have no chance to hit a hr ball.

  24. Mike 06/19/2013 at 12:27 PM #

    I also believe Rodon on the mound deflates the Heels. Look at what they have done against him in his career – nothing. Last year, ACC tourney last year, this year in Raleigh, ACC tourney, and now CWS. They have not figured him out yet.

    The others? Look at the results – they hit our other guys. Parks, Eugene, Biff, Skye, and Tammi are all afraid of Rodon but will have confidence against others. And confidence goes a long way when swinging the bat.

  25. maverick_ncsu 06/19/2013 at 12:27 PM #

    Well Avent has already made up his mind for sure. I’m not saying when we’ll know but pitchers have a day before routine as well as day of, so someone is preparing for tomorrow already. When do you think we’ll know?

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