Fresh off a 5-0 weekend at the Fairfield Crabtree Invitational and just a week removed from a 3-1 showing in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge the weekend before, the NC State softball team is off to its best 15-game start in program history.
Since going 2-3 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Florida to open the season, with its only losses coming to teams ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes, the Wolfpack (11-4) has gone 9-1 and is showing it can win games any way it wants. Whether it’s a low-scoring pitchers’ duel, a high-scoring slugfest or a mercy rule blowout, NC State is racking up wins and doing so in style.
But unlike last year, when the Wolfpack started off hot and went 16-8 in nonconference play before losing its first six ACC games amid a 6-15 start to conference action, this year head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift has her team’s sights set on sustained success.
“My job is just to make sure they have a good memory [of last year’s late struggles],” Patrick-Swift said after a midweek win over Elon. “Just continue to get after it. When you think you’re there it just means you need to keep working to get even higher.”
A dominant team at the plate with Patrick-Swift’s “home run mindset,” the Wolfpack is in the top three in the ACC in batting average, home runs and stolen bases.
NC State has gotten its production from all over the place — transfers, returners, pitchers, batters — but maybe the most eye-opening early-season performance has been that of Tatyana Forbes, a senior transfer from Florida International.
Forbes, a right fielder who is also a member of the Mexico national team that will be participating in the 2020 Olympics, has been a revelation for the Wolfpack. Batting in the two hole all season so far, Forbes is slashing .569/.607/.686, all of which lead the team. The speedy Forbes is also 9 for 9 in stolen base attempts and leads the team with 29 base hits. After struggling to find a consistent No. 2 hitter last season behind star leadoff hitter Sam Russ (.400/.464/.540), Patrick-Swift has her elite 1-2 punch now.
“She’s the real deal,” Patrick-Swift said. “They bring the outfield in and she hits it over their head, she hits a laser in the infield and they move back, she drops a bunt down. She can do it all. She places the ball where she wants it … She’s gonna hit it hard somewhere, you know she’s gonna put it in play.”
Also lifting the Pack offensively has been breakout seasons by senior center fielder Angie Rizzi and redshirt junior infielder Randi Farricker. A staple in the lineup the last three seasons, Rizzi entered the year with just a .207 career batting average and minimal power.
Perhaps a late bloomer, Rizzi is batting .325 on the year and has already hit two home runs, one being a walkoff in NC State’s win over Elon. With Rizzi batting cleanup as of late, she’s consistently coming to the plate with runners on base and has driven them in, already racking up seven RBIs, just four fewer than she had in 57 games last year.
A full-time starter this year after platooning last season, Farricker is a big bat in the middle of the order and has taken over everyday shortstop duties. The 6-footer is batting .366/.409/.512 and is a solid glove at the position that fields the most action. Although she’s slugging at a similar clip, her .366 batting average and .409 on-base percentage are both up over 100 points from the 2019 season.
But it hasn’t just been the bats that are powering NC State in its hot start. Led by senior Devin Wallace and sophomore Sydney Nester, the pitching has been at a high level as well. In 102 innings, Wolfpack pitchers have a 2.95 ERA and 100 strikeouts. Wallace and Nester and company are tough to make solid contact against, as they’re limiting opposing hitters to a minuscule .214 batting average.
With good arms on the mound, a star-studded top of the batting lineup and an aggressive coach at the helm, NC State has all the necessary components to compete at the top of the ACC. By the eye test, the Wolfpack has already made an evident jump in Patrick-Swift’s second year in charge. But if it wants to see tangible improvement, it needs to carry the momentum over into ACC play.
