*UPDATE: Everyone’s Out. State will play with 9 position players and four pitchers.
Rumors started trickling out early this morning (along with a big Vegas odds swing) about COVID issues within State baseball team. For now, it’s believed J.T. Jarrett has tested positive for COVID and removed completely from the team. He was not present for team batting and fielding prior to today’s game. Also sounding like at the very least, Evan Justice will be held out of today’s game for quarantine due to contact tracing. State and all CWS teams are tested every other day since arriving in Omaha.
What Happens Now?
Jarrett has struggled to find his groove in Omaha, going one for six with two walks. That said, he’s played every game this season and holds a 99% fielding percentage. The keystone to State’s nationally ranked defense is no more. Avent could go a couple different ways for replacing Jarrett. Tyler McDonough has second base experience and freshman Carson Falsken (although extremely limited playing time) was a gold glover out of high school.
Justice has been the man in the closer role for this second half resurgence. In his four Super Regional and CWS appearances; 9.1 innings, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 Ks. In those apparences he was also credited with 1 win and 3 saves. Most likely Villaman would fill in that role, especially considering that today he’d pitch the remainder of wherever Willadsen gets to. Crucial loss though for a State club that already lacked relief pitching depth.
We’ll wait to hear official word from State on who else might be held out.
State’s game against Vanderbilt starts at 2pm today.
The NC State Baseball team is now 7-0 through two weeks of play, going 4-0 last week, defeating Coastal Carolina 16-4 on the road in a midweek game, and sweeping Belmont at home this past weekend (11-4, 7-0, 7-1).
The Wolfpack remain ranked 21st in the D1Baseball Top-25.
The Wolfpack moved up 11 spots to #19 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll, up 2 spots to #20 in the Coaches Poll, and up 1 spot to #24 in the Baseball America poll.
NC State will host Longwood today at 3pm in their next matchup.
But while I was over on Twitter, I saw a ton of comments on it, all of them NC State fans, and almost all of them critical of the new look.
Look, I don’t know what’s going on here. Maybe it’ll look a lot better once it’s done, or maybe the grass will match up a lot better when it greens up. But right now, it’s a little jarring. Here is how it used to look…
Again, I’m going to wait until it’s really done before I cast judgement, but I think the official tweet from the school marketing it and drawing attention to it, has people thinking it’s in it’s final form. And maybe it is. But I hope it’s not.
I remember this being shared a while back…
This shows grass in foul territory and dirt in the 1st/3rd baselines. So I’m not sure when this turf thing came along. And while we’re on the subject, aren’t we a turf management school? Shouldn’t we be turning up our noses at artificial turf?
Apparently, this is a thing now, where foul territories are artificial turf and fair territory is grass. Here is Mississippi State’s baseball field doing the same thing.
Can’t say I like it there either, honestly. It just seems like one of those fads. Remember when everyone was going crazy with field/court colors?
School with a grey field and school with a glow in the dark basketball court meet on blue turf. Winning coach gets dumped with French fries. College athletics at its absolute best. https://t.co/crEKoeLKbXpic.twitter.com/Bpeod50Sy4
Did anyone ever really like those? Do people like them now? Have they ever gotten a recruit to come to the school? Have they ever scared a recruit away?
I don’t know. You tell me. I’ll hold final judgment, but things NC State fans don’t seem like they’re going to follow along.
WTF… Isn’t everyone vaccinated?