For the third year in a row, the NC State softball team finished below .500 in both overall and conference record.
The Wolfpack (23-31, 5-18 ACC) took advantage of an easy non-conference schedule, starting off the season 11-5 before the beginning of ACC play.
NC State finished with the worst conference record in the ACC Atlantic division and the second-worst in the ACC as a whole, ahead only of Virginia (12-41, 3-21 ACC).
A mediocre 4-6 start to ACC play wasn’t a death sentence for the Pack, as it had just beaten perennial NCAA tournament team USC-Upstate and had split a road doubleheader against Louisville, creating some hope for the second half of the season.
However, after the split with Louisville put the Wolfpack’s overall record at 20-14 and ACC record at 4-6, the rest of the season was an unmitigated disaster.
Over its final 20 games, NC State went 3-17 (1-12 ACC), including getting swept at the hands of Boston College, Syracuse and Florida State.
The Pack’s continued struggles led to the firing of former head coach Shawn Rychcik upon the conclusion of his sixth year at the helm. Rychcik, who started off his career at NC State with a 109-60-1 (.644) record and one NCAA Super Regional appearance in his first three years, failed to continue his early success, compiling a 64-102 (.386) over his final three years.
After getting blasted to the tune of a 5.93 team ERA in 2017, the Pack’s pitching, led by sophomore transfer Devin Wallace (Coastal Carolina) improved mightily in 2018, finishing with a 3.51 team ERA.
Wallace (11-17, 3.34 ERA) was the team’s undisputed ace, appearing in 40 games, starting 31 of them, throwing 194.2 innings and holding opposing hitters to a .249 batting average. Freshman Kama Woodall (9-10, 3.31 ERA) was the only other member of the Pack’s rotation to throw over 30 innings, pitching 105.2 innings and striking out 67 batters.
Senior Harli Hubbard (2-3, 3.60 ERA) was a reliable arm out of the bullpen, appearing in 11 games and even throwing a complete game in one of her four starts. Junior Brittany Nimmo was the only other pitcher to appear in a game for the Pack, and she posted a 5.80 ERA in 25.1 innings spread across 14 appearances.
Poor hitting plagued the Pack all season long, as the offense finished with just a .250 team batting average while not a single player on the roster batted over .300.
After bursting onto the scene as a freshman to the tune of a .389 batting average and Second-Team All-ACC honors, sophomore center fielder Jade Caraway took a huge step backwards, seeing her batting average fall over 130 points to a meager .255.
Junior catcher/infielder Cheyenne Balzer led the Pack in batting average, hitting .299 and driving in 29 runs. Freshman infielder Chandley Garner accounted for nearly a third of the Pack’s 36 home runs, slugging a team-high 11 bombs to go along with a .276 batting average and a team-high 31 RBIs.
The lone bright spot for the Pack’s offense was its success on the basepaths. Led by freshman outfielder Sam Russ (17-for-17) and Caraway (13-for-13), NC State stole 39 bases in 46 attempts, good for an 84.7 percent success rate.
NC State had an extremely young 2018 team. The Pack graduated just one senior, shortstop Alyssa Compton. Barring any transfers, the Pack will be returning 14 players, amounting to nearly 90 percent of its at bats and 93 percent of its innings pitched.
