NC State Baseball Without 14 Players Against Vanderbilt Due To Covid-19 Protocols

Just prior to North Carolina State’s game at the College World Series against Vanderbilt Friday, word came down that two Wolfpack players, starting second baseman J.T. Jarrett and closer Evan Justice, were not available due to health and safety protocols and that the game would be delayed as NC State sorted out who else would be affected.

As it turns out, the effects were wide-reaching. Fourteen different NC State players have been ruled out, including starting position players in shortstop Jose Torres, center fielder Tyler McDonough and DH Terrell Tatum, in addition to Jarrett and Justice.

Per health and safety protocols at the College World Series, vaccinated players are not subject to regular Covid-19 testing, while those unvaccinated are required to do so.

According to ESPN’s Kris Budden, prior to the game, NC State coach Elliott Avent gave his team the choice of playing the game with the 13 available players or forfeiting the game and coming back Saturday. The Wolfpack expect to get several players back Saturday, so the situation could conceivably be in better shape 24 hours from now, but the players chose to press on.

The resulting lineup is as strange as you might expect. The four inserted position players, second baseman Carson Falsken, first baseman (and Monday’s starting pitcher) Sam Highfill, DH Eddie Eisert and third baseman DeAngelo Giles, have a combined 27 at-bats this season and starting pitcher Garrett Payne came into the game with all of 8.2 innings on the season. It also forced some shuffling, such as usual first baseman Austin Murr moving to left field and third baseman Vojtech Mensik sliding over to shortstop.

This is the second time this season that NC State has been affected by Covid-19, as it also went on pause early in ACC play, which led to the cancellation of a series against Duke.