NC State head coach Elliott Avent, RHP Truitt Manuel, INF Christian Serrano, and RHP Mikey Ragusa met with the media to discuss the 12-2 win versus East Carolina in the Wolfpack’s annual “Strikeout ALS” game.
NOTE: Click the videos above to watch each press conference!
Opening statement...
We have five freshman pitchers. The game was at East Carolina, and tonight was almost the same thing. Julien Peissel opened it up for us and got us off to a good start, but then it became freshman after freshman.
Everybody knows that without Jacob Dudan and Ryan Marohn, this has been tough; it's been a challenge. So guys are going to have to step up. Are they totally ready? Probably not at this stage in their career, but that's what we're asking them to do, and tonight they were huge, as well as they were down at Greenville a couple of weeks ago.
What does it say about them to show up in a game like this, a rivalry game, one that means a little bit more to them?
Well, it's one they'll never forget. I mean, the East Carolina-NC State rivalry is just very, very special. It's two really good teams, two schools that love baseball. Saying baseball fits NC State, it fits East Carolina very, very well. And so to pitch in this game in front of them, it looked packed, I don't know if it was packed or not, but it looked packed to me, it means a lot to the fans, and it's a great rivalry. Like I said, it's one they'll never forget.
The "Strike out ALS" game, coach, I mean, just how important, how nice is it to do something like that?
It's unbelievable. Chris Combs, there are not enough things I can say about him. He was on the team when I came here, which was the greatest professional day of my life, coming back to NC State. He was on that team and was just one of the best teammates I've ever seen, one of the best people I've ever seen. To get to coach him and then to become friends with him for so many years, we did so much.
We went to hear Zac Brown in Citi Field with Wendell Murphy. The three of us went to see Zac Brown. I'm not sure Wendell was all enthused about it, but then we went to the Bahamas, and he made me go down something through a shark tank. The memories I have of Chris Combs are so special.
So yeah, anytime we get to honor him... and the guy that sang the national anthem did an unbelievable job, I think his last name was Stilwell. He had the 23 for Coach McClendon and the 26 for Chris Combs in the same hat; I thought that was just an unbelievable hat.
So yeah, a special night anytime you get to do that. We did the pediatric cancer game a few weeks ago with Trea and Kristen Turner, and then to get to celebrate Coach McClendon and Chris Combs, and the guy who threw out the first pitch, and then they gave a wheelchair away, it's just one of our former players, Jackson Lucas, his dad was stricken with this awful disease. So, just a lot of special memories on a night like today.
You guys have a big series coming up. ACC play is winding down. Your thoughts on where y'all are at in the homestretch?
I think we're in good shape. D1Baseball does a pretty good job predicting stuff; they're right on the money. They spend their whole career having input and doing things, and they still have us in. It was a tough loss that Sunday at Virginia Tech. The rain on Saturday put our pitching in another bind, and we just had to battle so many things. Then losing Mikey Ryan on Saturday, it just... but a game that was close to being in hand on Sunday, that was a tough loss. But I still think we're in. We can finish up decent down the stretch. I still think we're in.
To have freshmen, this kind of simulates a 2-3 game, what a 2-3 game would be, maybe in a regional. ECU and State, the type of level talent, and to have freshmen contribute so much in these two wins...
I would say we're in the playoffs; I would say East Carolina is, too.
That's about what you would get in a 2-3 game.
This is about a 2-3 game in the regional; that's exactly what it is. Of course, it's a great play, talking about a guy who's supposed to be a senior in high school who came here and forwent the draft. I talked to his parents, and he showed what he wants to do. His brother played here, loved college, and loved it here, and he wanted to follow that path. Sometimes a brother wants to take a different route, but he follows in Eli's footsteps. He's a great player, and he goes out in his first college start against East Carolina. It's a great rivalry; it's not an ugly rivalry, it's a great rivalry. Two good teams that go after baseball the right way. I told him he'll never forget his first start.
You mentioned Mikey Ryan. Do you think he will be back this weekend for Miami?
He went to the doctor yesterday and got an X-ray. He got a semi-positive report, but we won't know, the doctor won't know. The doctor is incredible; he's so good at these things, but he won't know until he gets the MRI tomorrow. It's a pretty severe sprain, so he could be out for a while, but there is no way of really telling until he gets the MRI. That'll give us more feedback.
How important was it for you guys to get back home and kind of reset today?
Well, anytime you're at home, you enjoy that. It's nice being at home. But they have exams. I think tomorrow is Reading Day, so there are no exams, even though some of the guys told me there were. I'm confused. I thought Reading Day meant no exams, but anyway, exams start either tomorrow or Thursday. I'm confused now, and so they need to be at home right now.
This is going to have to be an "all hands on deck" thing. Guys are getting hurt; things happen in baseball. How are you guys taking that responsibility?
I mean, Coach says, "next guy up, next guy ready to play." He's preached it, and we've had a lot of guys step up. Mikey Ragusa, for example. As soon as Jacob Dudan went down, he stepped up. Aiden Kitchings has stepped up a lot. Julien Peissel has also. He's coming off ACL surgery. I know we have a couple more guys in the pen who are ready to go as well.
What's it like for you guys tonight to have three of you in your first year of playing? You were able to come out there and throw six shutout innings and secure the win like that.
It's awesome. Stuff you dream about, stuff you look towards going into college. I'm really close with all the freshmen as well. So, yeah, it's awesome.
And how important is it for you guys to be able to put innings like that in during the midweek when your bullpen isn't really that deep right now?
Really important, because we're saving pitching for the weekend. We're saving Anderson Nance, Ryder Garino, all those guys. So being able to go out there and do our job helps us on the weekend, too.
What is it about this freshman class that's helped you guys be so successful?
I would say that we're all, I mean, we're all really close, as Goose said. We all feed off of each other. Most of the guys are throwing partners, so we get to working together. And, yeah, I would say that's...
Everybody has a responsibility. You kind of mentioned that in baseball. Everybody has a job, your job, to help set up the weekend so it goes well. How do you feel about where y'all are at this point in the year? Because I think this might be the last, or maybe there's one more midweek. How do you feel like you're at?
I feel like we're really set up. We know who our guys are coming out of the bullpen and who to go to. It's just a matter of time before we get hot.
What's it like for you to be able to do it today, in a game like this, where last year you weren't able to?
It's awesome. Last year, coming off Tommy John surgery, it's awesome. Stuff you dream about.
This simulates probably what a 2-3 game would be like in the NCAA tournament. And again, freshmen getting out there and beating a good team, how does that bode well for the postseason?
I mean, these guys are a great squad. They're always a great team. They've always been in the playoffs. They've played at Wake Forest and then played in the regionals; they've hosted several regionals. I would say it gives us confidence heading into the next series to get hot, especially since ECU is a great ball club.
How did it feel to have your first start?
It was pretty, pretty cool, especially against ECU, a rivalry game in front of a pretty good crowd. I'd say it was pretty cool, definitely one I'll remember.
How much did the second inning help you settle in on defense, having all three outs coming your way?
I settled in pretty well. I'm confident in my fielding, and it felt good.
What time today did they tell you you'd start?
He posted the lineup right when I got to the field, so I looked at the board and saw I was starting, and I was pretty happy.
Did you talk to Mikey Ryan at all about starting? Did he give you any advice?
Yeah, of course. Mikey's a good guy to talk to about that. Watching him play, I mean, you can take a piece out of how he plays.
What's the biggest thing you've taken from him?
Probably just staying locked in and being confident in yourself.
Obviously, you have confidence in yourself with the play, but how much did it help you, having a game like this, hitting-wise, since you haven't been getting consistent at-bats this year?
Pretty good. Definitely not getting a lot of at-bats, but having a game like this will definitely boost your confidence for sure.
How do you stay locked in when you're not getting them in games?
Just coming to the field, working with Bo Robinson, and just staying locked in.
What are your thoughts on the depth of NC State's freshman class, the ones they have this year?
It's a pretty good freshman class, I'll tell you that. We've got "Goose" (Cooper Consiglio), Truitt Manuel, Aiden Kitchings, Vincent DeCarlo, and Luke Hemric. We're just here to play.
So many of y'all contributed to the sweep against ECU. How big is that for this year and beyond?
It's pretty big. It's definitely big for next year, too, but we've got to finish out this year strong.
Sort of the same thing, your thoughts on the freshman class?
Yeah, I think we're pretty solid. We're all very close, so that helps. Yeah, just feeding off of each other and working together.
And how big is it for you guys to contribute to this sweep of ECU?
It's pretty cool. I'm from Florida, so I'm not really tapped in with the whole ECU-North Carolina rivalry and all that. But since I've gotten here, I've seen how much the fans and supporters of the program care about it, so it's been pretty cool.
But even ECU, it's still a good team, and it's still meaningful for the NCAA and all that to contribute to what NC State's trying to do this year. Your thoughts on that?
Yeah, I mean, it's pretty cool being able to go home and talk about it with all of them. It's pretty cool, and working together has been great.
Having the earlier win over ECU a couple of weeks ago, did that give you guys any confidence?
Yeah, I think so. I think every game we go into, we've got the confidence to win. But yeah, definitely a win the first time helped a lot.
What have these last few weeks been like for you, being able to be back on the mound and pitching as well as you are?
It's been pretty cool. At first, being out, it was hard sitting on the bench. But being back is pretty cool. It's cool to be able to play with everyone.
When you talk about it being hard, what were you doing to prepare yourself?
Looking at the older guys, doing what they do. Heath Andrews, Ryan Marohn, and Jacob Dudan are all great guys to feed off of when it comes to stuff like that.
What's it like for you guys as a freshman bullpen going out there during six shutout innings to kind of shut them down?
It's a great feeling, especially going back in the locker room and seeing how everyone else feeds off that side of stuff. It's pretty cool.
