Despite dropping an emotional Senior Day matchup to No. 24 North Carolina, the Wolfpack bounced back to win the next two games of the three-game series against the Tar Heels off walk-off home runs.
First-year head coach Shawn Rychcik said he has experienced intense rivalries in his coaching career, such as the Boston-Boston College rivalry.
“You could feel the excitement going into the weekend. The park was packed. I think we had about 1,000 people for yesterday’s games,” Rychcik said. “I learned the rivalries and the tradition’s at this University in a very short time, so I’m glad to be a part of it right now.”
State lost the first game of the series, 2-1. But its bats came alive in the following two matchups to get its wins, 11-8 and 3-1, respectively.
The first game was a pitcher’s duel between Wolfpack sophomore pitcher Emily Weiman and Lori Spingola. Weiman allowed three hits in seven innings and struck out seven batters.
Both squads posted runs in the fifth inning, but Carolina’s Constance Orr provided the Heels with the winning run in the seventh off a Wolfpack fielding error.
Senior outfielder Caitlin Dent stepped up in her final home series with the Pack in the second game of the three-game series. With the game tied at eight going into the eighth inning, junior catcher Kristy Grant hit a double to center to advance to second base. She got to third on a wild pitch on the next batter and sophomore Renada Davis was put on first with a walk.
Dent stepped up to the plate with runners at the hot corners and took advantage. She hit a three-run home run over the left field wall to win the game.
The drama continued in the final game of the tied series. The Wolfpack fell behind 1-0 after giving up a home run to Kristen Brown. But the Pack had the final say and delivered the finishing blow in the seventh inning. Sophomore shortstop Renada Davis hit a three-run homer over the left field wall to give the Pack the series win against the Tobacco Road rival.
“She’s got a bunch of home runs in the leadoff spot for us. She’s hit the ball really well for us at times,” Rychcik said. “Throughout the order we’ve had some great people for us hit really well, but Renada’s had a really good year. She’s had a really different year than her freshman year when she hit for average. This year, she’s hit for power.”
Weiman picked up her second win of the weekend in the third game of the series. She allowed three hits and struck out three in seven innings of action.
In Rychcik’s first season with the Wolfpack, he has scored wins against ranked opponents in five of State’s last 12 games against a ranked opponent.
“I think we’ve just changed the midset a little bit,” Rychcik said. “We’ve made a lot of adjustments, tried to do a lot of different things with the players’ swings and just how we play the game and what we believe in.”
“We’ve got that confidence going. I think it just continued now that we’re in conference. Here, we feel like we can win every game we play.”
