Tuesday Win Gives Late-Season Vibes for NC State

RALEIGH — The tension and weight of midweek games in college baseball isn't always palpable, but that wasn't the case at Doak Field on Tuesday. No. 16 Coastal Carolina arrived in the den of the 13th-ranked NC State Wolfpack looking to hand the home team its second loss of the 2026 season. The back-and-forth nature of the matchup felt more like a game in May than one in early March.

For NC State coach Elliott Avent, that feeling only elevated the importance of his team's 6-4 win over the Chanticleers. Now, this version of the Pack, just two years removed from a trip to the College World Series, knows what it feels like to be in the fires of competition against high-level opposition, even in the friendly confines of the Doak.

Learning those feelings

⚫️ out. pic.twitter.com/vMQLD8Kg3p
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) March 4, 2026

The Chanticleers and the Wolfpack traded blows throughout the nine innings, marking a far cry from the Wolfpack's 90-run week, which ended on Sunday. It took clutch hitting and lockdown relief pitching for Avent's team to get across the finish line, as Coastal Carolina was more than up to the challenge of battling the Pack.

"It did have an April/May feel to it," Avent said. "Real proud of the guys because everybody beats you in college baseball, that's the way it goes. Everybody's got a guy that can shut you down, as Princeton did ... To play a team like Coastal ... That's what I was proud of, our players, because it's more about us right now, early in the season, than it is about the opponent. We're trying to get better."

There is power, then there is CHRIS MCHUGH POWER! pic.twitter.com/h0PBzd7szh
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) March 3, 2026

Many aspects of the game had the feel of the postseason. Even on a Tuesday, passionate Wolfpack fans filled the ballpark, with students slowly trickling in as the school day ended and the sun remained high in the sky. While the weather hasn't turned to the Carolina warmth many prefer during baseball season, it was good enough to create the feel Avent described as closer to April or May than March.

"The crowd was unbelievable," Avent said. "For the crowd to be that good this early in the season ... It's still not 85 degrees yet either. I really thought the crowd was unbelievable and I thought our players just handled every part of that game very well."

Winning plays. pic.twitter.com/D4PzuBU2tk
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) March 4, 2026

For relief pitcher Collins Black, who earned the win after two hard innings of work, this was the opportunity he signed up for when he transferred to NC State from Duke. Avent trusted him in a key situation and while it didn't go perfectly, as Coastal Carolina cashed two unearned runs on Black, he found a way to grind through the outing and gain valuable experience.

"It was fun. I was looking forward to it. I wanted my name to be called," Black said. "Anybody in that staff is able to do what I did tonight. I was just the guy that got his name called, so it felt good to be out there."

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