As NC State baseball returns to College World Series, bitterness over ’21 departure lingers

There are certain things Elliott Avent can’t put behind him.

The deaths of his mother and father, for example. Or the death of former NC State administrator Bruce Winkworth. The passing of former soccer coach George Tarantini.

And how NC State’s 2021 baseball season ended.

Following Thursday’s practice back at Charles Schwab Field for the first time since the Wolfpack was forced to forfeit in the College World Series due to COVID health protocols, Avent said the sting of that ending wore off when he saw 2,000 fans awaiting the Wolfpack at RDU Airport when they returned home.

Yet, Avent gritted his teeth and composed himself when thinking about the players whose season ended in a 1:30 a.m. meeting with no guarantee they’d ever return.

“I never thought about the sting of ’21 since then,” Avent said. “It doesn’t mean I have forgotten, and it doesn’t mean I forgive because neither one exists, but I don’t ever think about it.”

When asked who he’d forgive if he possessed the strength, Avent said they know who they are.

“The hardest thing I’ve ever done is having to sit 27 players who gave their heart and soul and blood and sweat to achieve a goal of a lifetime and then tell them we’re going home,” Avent said. “So, to have four guys back on this trip, it means a lot to me.”

Highfill gets a second chance

Much of the 2021 team lives on in this year’s Wolfpack. Sam Highfill is one of the seven current players to play on both teams (four of them are active players). His eight innings of 15 strikeouts and just two hits outshined current Major League pitcher Jack Leiter to beat Vanderbilt, 1-0.

“Obviously it means a lot to be a part of something that was that special and etched in Wolfpack history,” Highfill said on Thursday, “but every time I think about that 13, I think about the 14 guys that couldn’t be out there that day…”

The righty’s thoughts trailed off. He re-centered himself on the team’s shared goal to conquer the odds and return to Omaha.

NC State survived the grueling ACC schedule, a harsh regional at Doak Field and three games on the road against a stout Georgia lineup in the super regionals to return. That last game, a gritty winner-take-all bout with the Bulldogs, brought out butterflies among players and coaches alike.

That’s where the age and experience of players win games, the head coach said.

Ties to 2021 team strong

Avent caught up with Logan Whitaker earlier this week and their conversation drifted to last Monday’s game in Georgia. Whitaker told his coach that he called Matt Willadsen the night before he pitched 4.1 innings against the Bulldogs.

Willadsen, who isn’t with the team while recovering from an elbow injury, started four innings in the Wolfpack’s 3-2 win over Arkansas that catapulted NC State to Omaha in that fateful three years ago.

Whitaker asked how to handle the nerves. They talked for 30 minutes. Then Willadsen sent a follow-up text. Whitaker showed that text to Avent.

“You try to build those relationships to where they play for each other,” Avent said. “That’s when it becomes very special, and that’s when you feel like maybe you’ve done your job.”

Highfill once again gets the nod in Omaha and will start against Kentucky on Saturday at 2 p.m.

He’ll carry the torch for returners while first-timers like slugger Alec Makarewicz gets his first taste of Omaha.

“You have to soak it in and enjoy it,” he said. It’s everything his head coach said it would be.”

And the ball coach holds Omaha in high esteem.

Avent used to coach at New Mexico State with a $6,000 salary. He stayed below the poverty line even after annual raises. He found seasonal work doing outreach at Youth Emergency Services in Omaha to stay afloat and fell in love with the place.

He returned to his baseball team with a goal.

“I swore I would never come back unless I brought a team with me,” Avent said. “I’ve stuck to that promise.”

Even his third return with the Wolfpack this week brought the same mix of excitement and anxiousness—something he equated to waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve night.

The Wolfpack now has the opportunity, against a strong Kentucky lineup making its first CWS appearance, to put the past behind it.