Postseason softball at N.C. State is approaching rapidly, marked by the last home game Saturday. The Wolfpack finished it series with Boston College on a satisfying note, winning 6-1 after giving up both contests in a double-header on Friday.
State dominated its home turf this season with 22 wins, only giving up three losses at Dail Stadium, two of which were added Friday by the Eagles.
Both teams’ ace pitcher threw a complete game in the first contest. Wolfpack junior Emily Weiman faced off against Boston College’s graduate student Nicole D’Argento for an extremely low-scoring game. However, the Eagles managed to scrape together a couple of runs for a 2-0 win.
Senior right fielder Kirsty Grant started game two with a bang by hitting a solo homer in the first inning, putting N.C. State up 1-0. D’Argento started for a second time that day, but only ended up throwing two innings.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Courtney Mirabella kept the Eagle’s offense from passing first base in the first three innings, but BC used a pair of hits to take a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning.
BC scored two more in the fifth and their final in the seventh. A last ditch homer by senior second baseman Chelsea Tate put a second run on the scoreboard, but the call was not answered and the Pack fell, 6-2.
Saturday, the Wolfpack returned to Dail Stadium with a more concentrated effort.
“I thought we responded really well today after a tough day yesterday,” head coach Shawn Rychcik said. “We had a good game plan today and we executed it. We took advantage of a few pitches up in the zone and we were able to put some runs on the board.”
BC could only squeeze in one run against Weiman throughout the third and final contest. The Pasadena, Md. native put in a strong performance, shutting down 13 consecutive batters from the third inning to the sixth and also getting the team out of a defensive jam in the first. This weekend, Weiman pitched a whopping 16.2 innings out of the 21 total innings played.
“Emily [Weiman] escaping the bases-loaded jam in the top of the first was a huge momentum shift for us,” Rychcik added. “The rest of the way she was really good and only gave up a few hits in the top of the seventh, so I was real happy with her performance.”
N.C. State accumulated six runs from 10 hits — a much improved performance from the day prior. Junior left-fielder Sara Lippard put the first run on the board in the second with an RBI single, followed by a round-tripper from sophomore designated player Hanna Sommer in the third, which was her fifth homer of the season.
Senior center fielder Scout Albertson got the go-ahead from third base when junior shortstop Renada Davis knocked a base hit into the outfield. The score stayed in the Pack’s favor at 3-0 at the end of the fourth.
Senior first baseman Leah Jones and Tate slammed back-to-back homers in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jones’ moon shot also brought in Sommer and was her sixth of the season. Tate’s homer flew over the left field fence, marking her seventh of the year.
Seniors Albertson, Grant, Jones, left fielder Hayley Stowe and Tate were recognized Saturday for their commitment to the softball program and N.C. State. The seniors ended on a good note with the win.
