Photo by: Alex Sanchez NCSU Student Media
Sophomore third baseman Scout Albertson high fives her teammates after scoring a run against Boston College Saturday, April 7, 2012. Albertson went 1 for 3 with 1 walk and 1 run in the 7-1 Wolfpack win.
N.C. State will begin its 2013 softball season today as it participates in the Florida International Panther Invitational in Miami.
The Wolfpack softball program is entering its 10th season and will do so under the leadership of new head coach Shawn Rychcik.
Athletic Director Debbie Yow hired Rychcik from Boston University, where he compiled a 271-159-1 record in eight seasons.
“Shawn has a clear vision of how to mold our softball program into one destined for the College World Series,” Yow said. “His recruiting results and graduation outcomes, achieved within a modest infrastructure, are quite simply stunning.”
“The fit for N.C. State is an excellent one and we welcome Shawn and his family to our Wolfpack Family.”
“I am looking forward to this challenge and believe we will build North Carolina State softball into an ACC and national championship contender,” Rychcik said.
The Pack returns eight of its top 10 regulars from last season’s team.
Senior outfielder Bethaney Wells and 2012 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year shortstop Renada Davis will look to lead the way.
Wells has been the team leader in home runs for State in each of the last two seasons. The Harrisburg, N.C.-native also tallied a team-best 39 RBIs in 2012. That total placed her 5th in the conference last season. She also placed 4th in the ACC with a sterling .567 slugging percentage.
Davis set school-records last season by batting .362 along with a .450 on-base percentage. The Tomball, Texas-native finished second in the ACC in batting and also led the Wolfpack with 55 hits.
Seniors and South Florida-natives Caitlin Dent and Katie Mansilla will also look to provide leadership. Dent, from Boynton Beach, led the Wolfpack last season with 34 walks, Mansilla, from Pembroke Pines, paced N.C. State with seven stolen bases and seven sacrifice bunts while batting .290 in 2012.
Juniors Scout Albertson and Kirsty Grant will also look to help guide N.C. State into the upper-half of the ACC standings.
Albertson was second on last year’s team with five home runs and 32 RBIs. The utility-player from Archdale, N.C. started 51 games at third base in 2012.
Grant was an ACC All-Academic selection last season in her first year at State after transferring from Tallahassee Community College. The catcher from Oakville, Ontario paced the Pack in 2012 with three triples, good for third overall in the ACC.
N.C State will compete against Georgetown and Kansas on its opening day in Miami. Saturday, the Pack will face hosts Florida International, with semifinals slated for later that day and the final on Sunday.
Next week, N.C. State will take its game north to Tampa, Fla. to compete in the USF Tournament. The Wolfpack will face Tennessee and hosts South Florida on Feb. 15. A match-up with Coastal Carolina follows the next day with semifinal action later and the tournament final that Sunday.
State will play its first match in Raleigh on March 1 when it hosts Stony Brook University in the N.C. State Wolfpack Challenge. On the following Saturday, the Pack will face Kansas in a rematch and tangle with in-state foe North Carolina A&T.
State will open league play in Raleigh at the Dial Softball Complex with a three-game set against Florida State starting on March 9.