NC State’s start to the 2021 baseball season didn’t go as planned.
After losing its first three conference series and seven canceled contests, the Wolfpack found itself 4-9 overall and 1-8 in ACC play, trending towards the bottom of the league standings.
Hopes were high entering the season. Every major preseason college baseball poll had the Pack in the top 25.
But after taking multiple punches in the mouth early this spring, NC State has turned its season around, claiming victories in 10 of its last 12 contests, including a road sweep over rival and then-ranked No. 11 North Carolina.
“We have so many games in conference play this year, it's unbelievable,” Sophomore center fielder Tyler McDonough said. “Coach [Elliott] Avent talked to us about we have a long season, we have to go game-by-game and really come together and hunker down to fight for the wins that we need. That really helped us. We're playing better now, and we'll hopefully continue that.”
NC State ended a near three-week winless drought with a 5-3 road victory over UNC Wilmington on March 23, but the turnaround started before the Pack began winning games.
“We've just been coming together as a team,” McDonough said. “We're all so close to each other. We're all best friends and you could almost say we're all family. I feel like we've been fixing the little things that went on earlier in the season with the walks and not getting runs in at the same time.
“We've turned it around really since Louisville. We got swept by Louisville, but that was the weekend I thought we were all coming together. We're realizing we have something good here and we've started believing in ourselves.”
The team’s performances have also come together. The bats have come alive and the Pack’s starting rotation has risen to the occasion.
Of the Wolfpack’s 10 most recent wins, three featured complete-game outings from its starters.
Junior right-hander Reid Johnston allowed just two earned runs in the Pack’s 9-2 win in the series opener against North Carolina. Freshman lefty Chris Villaman tossed a one-hitter four days later in NC State’s 3-0 road win over UNC Greensboro, which marked its fifth-straight win.
Most recently, freshman right-hander Matt Willadsen allowed just two hits in the Pack’s last win, a 7-0 road victory over Boston College to clinch the series sweep.
But just as the strong starting pitching has helped the cause, so has the offense performance of the Wolfpack. And McDonough has been a consistent contributor to the lineup all season.
The 5-10, 180-pounder has the second-best batting average (.311), second-most doubles (8), third-most home runs (4) and ties for the most walks (17) on the team.
After last season was cut short due to COVID-19, McDonough could have gone pro despite the fact that he was just a sophomore because he met the minimum age requirement of 21-years-old. The right-handed switch hitter couldn’t imagine making the shortened 2020 season his last, however.
“I love this team,” McDonough said. “I love this school. It was a hard decision, but I wanted to play another full season before I left, that's for sure. I love the coaches, they're the best in the nation I think. They really know what they're doing, and they really know how to bring a team together.
“They brought a bunch of guys in this year, especially freshmen. We have a lot of freshmen this year. We have that family mentality. We're a family on the field and off the field. I love the campus, and I love the atmosphere here in North Carolina, plus it's way warmer than Ohio.”
NC State will look to continue its hot streak Wednesday when it hosts North Carolina A&T in Doak Field at 6 p.m. before traveling to South Bend for a weekend road series with the team that currently holds the best overall winning percentage in the ACC, Notre Dame.
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