Charlie Condon on Wolfpack's mind
Like other coaches who have played Georgia this year, North Carolina State's Elliott Avent is very aware of Charlie Condon.
Ensuring the Bulldog star does not cause too much damage is a concern.
“I try not to look at him too much. I looked at him a couple of times and that was enough,” Avent said after practice Friday at Foley Field. “It's quite impressive with what he’s done. You put those numbers up … I remember one time with Team USA, Ryan Zimmerman was on that team, a great player for the Nationals. We joked about him all summer. It was like he was playing pinball, or Stratomatic, that old board game if any of y’all remember that. It’s almost like he’s (Condon) got a good card on Stratomatic, that’s all I can say.”
However, Avent – who was also the head coach of the Wolfpack back in 2008 when the Bulldogs beat North Carolina State to advance to the College World Series – points out that Georgia is loaded.
“Nobody’s a one-man team. You talk about the ‘27 Yankees, the first name you mention is Babe Ruth, the next name you mention in Lou Gehrig,” Avent said. “You think they didn’t have people up and down that lineup? It’s never a one- or two-man wrecking crew.
"Georgia’s got a good ball club up and down the lineup. We’re going to have to play well this weekend.”
But the Wolfpack (36-20) are a confident team.
Like Georgia, North Carolina State is 11-3 over its last 14 games, although Avent said his team’s confidence began developing long before that.
“They’re loose, and they’re playing confidently. We’ve been the same for I don’t how many weeks,” Avent said. “We’ve really been the same for the past 10 weeks.”
Having senior Sam Highfill (6-2, 5.35) doesn’t hurt that confidence.
Highfill has done it all during his career with the Wolfpack, including pitching North Carolina State to a 1-0 win over Jack Leiter and Vanderbilt in the 2021 College World Series, before Covid-19 knocked the team from the tournament.
“Just trust Sam to be Sam. That’s all you can do at this point in the season,” Avent said. “He’s been through it all, through Covid, through injury, to the World Series, to whatever. The great 1-0 game with Jack Leiter in Omaha. He’s been through it all. Nothing about Sam surprises me.”
However, if Friday’s workout at Foley Field was an indication, pitchers from both teams might have trouble keeping the ball in the yard.
Foley Field typically plays smaller the warmer it becomes, and with temperatures Saturday expected to be in the upper 80s, both teams are prepping for some potentially high-scoring games.
“How it plays in BP and how it plays in the game is obviously two different things but in BP the ball was flying a little bit it looked like,” Avent said. “But anyway, it’s a pretty ballpark, a pretty setting for a ballpark, a great college campus, and a great college venue here, so we’re excited to be here.”