In a grueling pitchers’ duel, the NC State softball team used a sixth-inning double from senior shortstop Alyssa Compton to beat the South Carolina Upstate Spartans, 2-1.
A year removed from getting blown out in back-to-back games against S.C. Upstate, the Wolfpack (19-13, 3-5 ACC) looked much improved behind sophomore starting pitcher Devin Wallace’s excellent performance.
“[Wallace] threw great,” NC State head coach Shawn Rychcik said. “We really needed that out of her.”
Rychcik followed up his praise for Wallace by emphasizing the magnitude of the Pack’s win, beating a perennial Softball College World Series team that the Pack got overmatched by last year.
“Upstate is a good team,” Rychcik said. “They’ve been to the [College World Series] pretty regularly here in the last few years. We struggled with them last year so it was a good rebound for us.”
Wallace (11-5, 2.21 ERA) was electric for the Wolfpack, going the distance while allowing only one run, two hits, three walks and striking out seven Spartan (21-11) batters.
Spartans starting pitcher Christina Biggerstaff was almost equally dominant, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning and striking out eight Wolfpack batters.
Upstate’s Karla Beasley got the Spartans on the board first, taking Devin Wallace deep to centerfield for Beasley’s ninth home run of the season.
The action would hit a lull for the next few innings, with the Spartans threatening to score in the fourth inning but Wallace ultimately pitching out of the jam.
Sophomore outfielder Angie Rizzi (1-2) broke up Spartans pitcher Christina Biggerstaff’s no-hitter in the fifth inning with a one-out single to left field but was ultimately stranded on first base to keep the Wolfpack scoreless for the fifth inning in a row.
NC State finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning, starting with sophomore center fielder Jade Caraway (1-3, run) singling to left field before advancing to third on a bloop single to right field by sophomore catcher Haylee Kobziak (1-2, run).
With two outs and the Wolfpack looking to take advantage of its only scoring chance of the game to that point, Compton (1-3, two RBI) stepped to the plate and smacked a double off the centerfield wall, scoring Caraway and Kobziak to give the Wolfpack a 2-1 lead.
Rychcik knew Compton was the player he wanted hitting in that situation, citing her seniority as a main reason why.
“It was a good senior moment,” Rychcik said. “That’s who you want up, a senior like that.”
Compton’s double would prove to be the game-winner, as Wallace retired the side in the top of the seventh inning to give the Wolfpack its third win in its last four games.
After the home run in the first inning, Wallace was nearly unhittable, letting up only one more hit and retiring ten Spartans batters in a row at one point.
“It was very big for me to just hold the Spartans to one run,” Wallace said. “So my team could have a position to score more runs.”
The Wolfpack ace attributed her performance to a reliance on her strengths, of which there are many, and a simplified mindset.
“I was just pitching to my strengths,” Wallace said. “I don’t like to watch film just because I don’t like to think about it.”
The Wolfpack returns to action Friday when it takes on Louisville at Ulmer Stadium at 2 p.m.
