When coach Elliott Avent was hired in 1997, he was brought in to replace the departed Ray Tanner. Tanner had left his alma mater for the SEC in South Carolina.
This weekend in NCAA Regional competition, Avent will make the same trek to the Palmetto state that his predecessor did years ago, only this time, it will be to square off against the man he replaced.
It could be the first time Tanner and Avent have faced each other while at their respective schools, but first, Avent’s team will have to make it through Charlotte in the first game.
Charlotte’s standout pitcher, Adam Mills, leads the NCAA in ERA with a stingy 1.06 on the year.
“I’ve heard probably just as much as you have about him, I know his numbers and I’ve heard a little scouting report on him,” right fielder Ryan Pond said.
“With the pitchers we’ve faced this year in the ACC, we’re going to have to take the same mindset going into Florida State’s guys and Carolina’s guys.”
It will be a much different storyline if N.C. State should face South Carolina. Where Charlotte’s headliner is its pitching, South Carolina boasts four players with 14 home runs or more and the team has 106 on the year.
“They’ve got a good ball club and they’re well-designed for their ballpark,” Avent said. “They’re a power-hitting club, like to swing the bat and good defensively. And they’re a quality baseball team.”
The Wolfpack’s offense hasn’t been as impressive, but they will be playing in a stadium with smaller dimensions than their own.
One of the bright spots in the lineup in recent weeks has been junior Ramon Corona, even with a lingering foot injury that he said was now up to about “90 [percent].”
Corona moved from shortstop to third base, much like his next-door neighbor Alex Rodriguez, and has turned around what was a troublesome beginning to his season.
Corona went 6-for-13 in the ACC Tournament and has batted .370 over his last 22 games.
“Maybe I was putting too much pressure on myself early in the year, trying to do too much,” Corona said. “Later in the season I started relaxing a little more.”
The lowest-seeded team in the regional, Wofford, finished below .500 on the year, but has the NCAA leader in home runs – Brandon Waring with 27.
So far, regionals that South Carolina has hosted haven’t been kind to State teams. Earlier this month, the Gamecocks trounced the softball team and defeated them twice in the NCAA Regionals.
