Baseball opens season in Hawaii tonight — without Elliott Avent
Now, no one — no one — expects Wolfpack baseball coach Elliott Avent to spend his free time in Hawaii on the beach sipping mai tais, a la Jim Bouton in Ball Four, twisting a lei around his finger back at the resort while his team plays Hawaii’s Rainbow Warriors at Les Murakami Stadium.
It is, however, fun to think about what the coach might do during Friday’s season-opening game. A moped tour of Oahu? That didn’t turn out well for some members of the NC State basketball team in 1988, when they were expressly told not to rent mopeds until after they finished playing their three games in the Rainbow Classic. When they did, Chris Corchiani and Avie Lester wrecked, much to Jim Valvano’s distemper, and Lester played the next two weeks with a near-fatal case of road rash.
Maybe a visit to the Kona coffee plantation? Two things: Kona coffee is only grown on the Big Island, which is not where the Wolfpack is playing, and the last thing Avent needs is more caffeine.
You may recall that, because of a volcanic eruption during the NCAA Raleigh Regional last spring, Avent was suspended for two games. The first was the Wolfpack’s heart-wrenching loss to eventual College World Series champion Coastal Carolina, a defeat that prolonged Avent’s suspension into the first game of this season. (The ACC office sent Avent a text at 10:30 p.m. last Sunday, citing Rule 2-25 and reminding the coach that he can’t coach in Friday’s game.)
That suspension originally was supposed to be served at Doak Field at Dail Park when the Pack opened the season against Binghamton. Avent figured he would watch that game from his office at Dail Park, as he did the Coastal Carolina game, with former basketball assistant Bobby Lutz.
However, because of HB2, North Carolina’s infamous bathroom bill, New York has banned athletics teams from its state universities from traveling to the Old North State. North Carolina baseball lost a series with Stony Brook for the same reason.
Avent had to scramble to find a new first opponent for 2017. When Hawaii lost a series with its season-opening opponent, Rainbow Warriors’ coach and longtime Avent friend Mike Trapasso invited the Wolfpack to come for an island getaway.
“He’s been after us to come out there for a while, but I never wanted to do it because of expenses,” Avent said. “But we have lots of other teams that go everywhere, and we’ve never done anything like that, so I said why not?
“For us, it might be the only good thing that ever came from HB2.”
Avent explicitly states that this isn’t so much a recruiting trip, something promised long ago to entice players to Raleigh, as these kinds of excursions usually are for most teams. It is most assuredly, however, a reward for the upperclassmen who have contributed to NCAA regional appearances most of their entire careers.
That doesn’t always set well with former players.
“A lot of guys have been calling me up,” Avent said, “and telling me ‘Hey, coach, what’s this all about? The only place you ever took us was Myrtle Beach.”
Certainly, it will be the trip of a lifetime for the current players, the coaches and the support personnel. They have several side trips planned, including a visit to the Pearl Harbor Memorial, a bucket-list item for a military-buff like Avent. They may even take in a tour of a pineapple plantation.
Avent is still uncertain what he will be doing during Friday’s game.
“I don’t know yet,” he said Monday night. “When you can’t watch your team play, it’s the most miserable feeling in the world. No coach in any sport would want to not watch their team play.”
That happened to Avent last season when he was forced to stay home from a three-game series at Louisville after being bitten on the leg by a copperhead while taking his young puppy on a walk through his Raleigh neighborhood.
“I watched those games on my bed with my foot propped up and my dog beside me,” Avent said. “It was the most miserable feeling in the world.”
Since none of the rest of us can be at the games either, you can follow the team on the Wolfpack Radio Network on WKNC 88.1-FM, with former NC State catcher and longtime spotter Francis Combs calling the action. Or watch a live stream on OC Sports, which broadcasts Hawaii athletics. Find out more about the Rainbow Warriors and how to watch this weekend’s games here.
Regardless, Avent is hoping his Wolfpack, ranked as high as No. 6 in the preseason, comes together during their island vacation and returns ready to fulfill the high expectations he has for the coming year.
Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu