Mike Fox Shares His Side of the Elliott Avent Snakebite Incident

From the minute he was brought back to coach his alma mater in 1999, UNC head baseball coach Mike Fox has been battling for Triangle superiority with longtime NC State skipper Elliott Avent.

Although they get along well off the field, that didn’t stop Fox from trying to use Avent’s recent snake-bite injury against him ahead of their crucial rivalry series looming this weekend.

While outside his home last Wednesday evening, Avent and his 10-week-old puppy, Sammi, were bit by a venomous copperhead.

They each ended up fine, but the 60-year-old Avent spent a few hours in the hospital and was forced to miss the Wolfpack’s series against Louisville–which saw NC State swept in ACC play for the first time this season.

Elliott Avent and his mixed labrador retriever, Sammi, were OK after each being bitten by a copperhead last Wednesday. (Photo via Elliott Avent)

It was also the first time in Avent’s career that he was forced to miss games because of a physical ailment.

Before the news found its way to the media, though, Fox heard of his colleague’s bizarre injury through the coaching grapevine and decided to send his buddy a text.

“My wife got bit by one, probably about three years ago,” Fox said. “So as soon as I told Elliott that, he’s bombarding me. ‘What happened? Where was he? Where was she?’”

Noticing how freaked out Avent was, Fox did what any good friend would do. He took the opportunity to mess with him.

“It turned into me just making it seem like it’s a little worse than it was,” Fox said. “Elliott’s a little gullible. He was like, ‘How long does it take to recover?’

“I was like, ‘Months.’”

It’s really nothing more than a coincidence that Avent will be making his return to the field this weekend at home against Fox’s Tar Heels.

But with UNC needing as many wins as it can get in order to gain entry to the postseason, Fox joked that he should have told Avent that his wife hadn’t yet recovered from her bite.

Of course, then Avent—who went back and killed the snake with an umbrella after first trying with a stick—did his best to make sure Fox kept laughing.

“I really was concerned about him,” Fox said about Avent. “He said ‘I’m gonna send you a picture.’ So I thought he was gonna send me a picture because I said ‘Where did you get bit?’

“So I thought he was gonna send me a picture of his ankle—then all of a sudden a picture of the snake pops up on my phone,” Fox said, shaking his head with a big grin on his face. “Only Elliott.”

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