NC State Wolfpack baseball Jonny Butler is riding an impressive hot streak

NC State junior outfielder Jonny Butler is a Channahon, Ill., native who grew up a fan of the Chicago Cubs, and his favorite player was former Cub Kyle Schwarber, now of the Washington Nationals.

Why did Butler like Schwarber so much?

He grew to admire the big leaguer when during the 2016 World Series run, Schwarber overcome a gruesome knee injury in the early portions of the season to return in time to take at-bats as a designated hitter in the 7-game series win for Chicago.

“I just thought that was incredible,” Butler said.

A similar word can be used to describe Butler’s play lately. He was named ACC Player of the Week Monday as he continued a torrid stretch that has him currently leading the league with a .387 batting average. He sports an incredible OPS of 1.159 and is 12 for 12 on stolen bases.

Yet most importantly for Butler is that NC State has gone from a 1-8 start in ACC play to being 17-13 in the league and 26-14 overall.

“Right now, I am having a lot of fun playing this game,” Butler admitted. “It’s great to be out there winning with the guys. It feels good knowing that the hard work is paying off.”

In Butler’s last eight games, he has multiple hits in each contest, going a scorching 21 for 37 at the plate, including five homers, two doubles and a triple.

Butler though is not taking anything for granted. He recalled how he hit two homers in the first game of a doubleheader at Virginia Tech only to go 0 for 4 at the plate with a trio of strikeouts in game two.

“I’m just trying to ride it as long as I can,” he added about his hot streak.

Butler came to NC State after a one-year stint at Heartland Community College. How NC State found about him, Butler is unsure, but what he did know was that once the recruitment started he learned the Wolfpack was probably going to lose all three of its outfielders on the 2018 roster.

That, and that the head coach of the Wolfpack, Elliott Avent, seemed like, “The nicest guy ever.”

Butler seized the opportunity, starting 60 games in 2019 and playing the role as leadoff hitter, batting .267 with three homers and walking nearly as much (42) and he struck out (47).

“I was disappointed my first year,” Butler said. “I felt like I could have done a lot better and maybe helped that team a little more.”

“I hadn’t seen pitching like that, or at least consistently like that,” he added. “It was a little tough getting used to.”

It appeared Butler was making that adjustment a year ago, when he was hitting .290 through 17 games before the pandemic swept a promising season away from the Wolfpack.

That taught Butler “to not take anything for granted.”

“We had a ton of guys come back, and we knew we were going to be really good,” Butler added. “Trying to enjoy every moment on the baseball field.”

The goal is to make the good times, which include winning 22 of its last 27 games, last all the way to the College World Series.

“I think we match up with anybody in the country,” Butler said. “I think we got a real shot at going to Omaha and winning it. It takes a lot of things that are out of control to make that happen, but I think if we keep working hard we got a chance to do it, and I don’t think that many teams in the country have a chance to do it.”