College World Series: Wolfpack ready

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, June 16, 2021

NORTH CAROLINA STATE (35-18)

Coach: Elliott Avent (924-549 in 25 seasons at NC State; 1,148-762 in 33 seasons overall).

Road to Omaha: Won Ruston regional: beat Alabama 8-1, beat Louisiana Tech 8-3, beat Louisiana Tech 14-7. Won Fayetteville super regional: lost to Arkansas 21-2, beat Arkansas 6-5, beat Arkansas 3-2.

Last CWS appearance: 2013.

All-time record in CWS: 3-4 in 2 appearances.

Meet the Wolfpack: C Luca Tresh (.240, 15 HRs, 42 RBIs), 1B Austin Murr (.323, 7, 32), 2B J.T. Jarrett (.259, 1, 23), SS Jose Torres (.299, 10, 44), 3B Vojtech Mensik (.237, 5, 22), LF Jonny Butler (.377, 13, 48), CF Tyler McDonough (.341, 15, 44), RF Devonte Brown (.253, 12, 39), DH Terrell Tatum (.324, 11, 35). Starting rotation: RHP Reid Johnston (8-3, 4.47 ERA, 1 save), RHP Sam Highfill (8-2, 3.98), RHP Matt Willadsen (5-3, 4.73). Relievers: LHP Chris Villaman (5-2, 4.35, 2 saves), LHP Evan Justice (5-2, 4.09, 11 saves), RHP Coby Ingle (0-0. 2.57), RHP Andrew Tillery (1-1, 13.50), RHP Dalton Feeney (1-1, 11.48).

MLB Alumni: Carlos Rodon, Trea Turner, Andrew Knizner, Mike Caldwell, Dan Plesac, Tim Stoddard, Greg Briley.

Short hops: Wolfpack’s .983 fielding percentage is second nationally and best among CWS teams. They played error-free in 34 of their 53 games. … Jarrett’s 29 career sacrifice bunts are most of any active Division I player. … Members of the 1968 team that made the CWS are expected to attend.

Quotable: “These are games now that any mistake you make or any opportunity you don’t take advantage of is going to be magnified or be lost. And you may not get that opportunity again. So you’ve got to take advantage of everything just to have a chance to advance in this field.” — Avent.

VIRGINIA (35-25)

Coach: Brian O’Connor (749-317-2 in 18 seasons at Virginia and overall).

Road to Omaha: Won Columbia regional: lost to South Carolina 4-3, beat Jacksonville 13-8, beat South Carolina 3-2, beat Old Dominion 8-3, beat Old Dominion 3-2 in 10 innings. Won Columbia super regional: lost to Dallas Baptist 6-5, beat Dallas Baptist 4-0, beat Dallas Baptist 5-2.

2021 record vs. CWS teams: 0-0.

Last CWS appearance: 2015.

All-time record in CWS: 12-8 in 4 appearances (won 2015 national title).

Meet the Cavaliers: C Logan Michaels (.242, 0 HR, 18 RBI), 1B Jake Gelof (.257, 4, 15), 2B Max Cotier (.257, 0, 28), SS Nic Kent (.242, 8, 45), 3B Zack Gelof (.298, 9, 39), LF Brendan Rivoli (.273, 1, 24), CF Chris Newell (.239, 3, 29), RF Kyle Teel (.320, 9, 40), DH Devin Ortiz (.284, 8, 34). Starting rotation: LHP Andrew Abbott (8-6, 3.04 ERA), RHP Mike Vasil (7-5, 4.82), LHP Nate Savino (3-3, 3.86). Relievers: RHP Griff McGarry (0-5, 6.06), RHP Blake Bales (3-0, 0.71), LHP Brandon Neeck (2-0, 1.93), RHP Stephen Schoch (4-1, 2.52, 8 saves), RHP Kyle Whitten (0-1, 3.23, 1 save), RHP Zach Messinger (3-2, 4.31), RHP Matt Wyatt (4-1, 3.79), RHP Paul Kosanovich (1-1, 4.60), LHP Luke Schauer (0-0, 4.76), RHP Devin Ortiz (0-0, 0.00).

MLB Alumni: Ryan Zimmerman, Ricky Horton, Javier Lopez, Mark Reynolds, Mark Reynolds, Phil Gosselin, Sean Doolittle, David Adams, Pavin Smith.

Short hops: Won six elimination games to reach the CWS. … Had records of 11-14 overall and 4-12 in ACC play on April 1. … O’Connor grew up in the Omaha area (Council Bluffs, Iowa) and pitched for the 1991 Creighton team that reached the CWS. … Teel’s grand slam in the super regional-clinching game was Virginia’s first in a postseason game.

Quotable: “Six times they had their backs against the wall, and for them to come through speaks to the character and the resiliency and the type of young men that we have in this program.” — O’Connor.

Other teams:

STANFORD (38-15)

ARIZONA (45-16)

VANDERBILT (45-15)

TENNESSEE (50-16)

MISSISSIPPI STATE (45-16)

TEXAS (47-15)