NC State's season, and head coach Elliott Avent's decades-long career, ends on a pitch clock violation in NCAA regionals

Elliott Avent has been the NC State baseball coach since 1997 and has worked in college baseball since 1981. That career ended on Saturday, with the man himself irately confronting the umpires.

NC State was eliminated from NCAA regionals on Saturday with a 17-13 loss to No. 4 Auburn, ending their season in the double-elimination leg of the tournament. The Wolfpack had previously lost 9-3 to UCF on Friday, but this ending was far more contentious.

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The final pitch of the game stayed in the pitcher’s hand. NC State freshman Christian Serrano fell behind 0-2 against Auburn’s Jackson Sanders, then worked the count full. However, he apparently waited a little too long to get back into the batter’s box after the third ball, as the home plate umpire opted to call a pitch clock violation for the delay.

Strike three. Game, season and career over. The 70-year-old Avent, predictably, wasn’t happy, confronting the umpires about the call before ultimately throwing his cap in anger and congratulation the Auburn dugout.

It was quite a scene:

Avent announced last week he would retire after 30 years on the job at his alma mater in Raleigh, where he is the program’s all-time winningest coach.

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His final game saw Auburn take an 8-0 lead in the first inning and expand it to 10-0 in the second. His team hung around, however, cutting the deficit to 10-7 in the fourth inning before the Tigers responded with another seven runs.

NC State got six more runs in the sixth and seventh inning, but neither team scored for the rest of the game. Chase Fralick, Ethin Bingaman and Cade Belyeu all clubbed homers for Auburn and posted at least two runs and three RBI each.

It was an elimination game for both teams, as Auburn was shocked by Milwaukee in its NCAA tournament opener on Friday and will get either a rematch or UCF on Sunday to decide who reaches super regionals.