N.C. State’s softball team enters the 2014 season with sky-high expectations after an ACC Championship campaign in 2013. One of the key players on this year’s Wolfpack team, which was picked to finish second in the conference by ACC coaches in a pre-season poll, is junior shortstop Renada Davis, who broke the school’s record for home runs in a season last year and was also named a first-team All-ACC performer. The Technician sat down with the Tomball, Texas native to find out what she expects from the Pack in the 2014 season.

Technician: What was it like last season to have a new coach and no expectations?

Davis: After my freshman year, we came in not really knowing what to expect. We had ended pretty low in the season, so our mindset was just to get better every day. So as the season went along, we progressed and there were no expectations. We just wanted to get better as a team and see where we end up. After the first tournament, we kind of figured we could be better than that, and we just kept working hard and kept doing what we needed to do. Getting stronger, playing harder, and the season ended well for us.

Q: What does it feel like to win an ACC Championship?

A: Awesome. It still sometimes doesn’t click that we won in the circumstances that we were in. 

Q: What did you work on in the offseason?

A: Just staying consistent. For me personally, I started low, hitting-wise, and really took off near the end of the season. This year I am going to start at an even-keel, and I just want to ride out on an even-keel. I don’t want to get too high or too low.

Q: Having one season with head coach Shawn Rychcik under your belt and lofty expectations for 2014, how do feel about this season?

A: We finished last season high, and with all of the ratings, we do have high expectations. But [Rychcik] told us, ‘Yeah we have a bull’s-eye on our back, but you just have to keep playing the same way. The game hasn’t changed, so keep playing our game. Keep getting better and it’ll work for us in the end.’ 

Q: Is there a lot of excitement to begin the 2014 season?

A: Absolutely. You can feel everyone is getting hyped up right now because we leave tomorrow [Wednesday] for a tournament in Arizona. There are some nerves going around, especially with nine freshmen on the team, but we look confident, we feel confident, we are ready.

Q: Can this team compete for a National Championship?

A: Absolutely. We are a strong team. When we work as a team, there are very few teams that can beat us.

Q: What’s it like to play with [junior pitcher] Emily Weiman?

A: It’s great. When you are confident in your pitcher and you know she is going to hit her spots, you know that she is going to do what she needs to do. It makes our job a million times easier because we can just focus on what we are doing.

Q: What is the best thing about. N.C. State?

A: Everything. I love N.C. State. I love everything about it. Everything from school to our sports to Raleigh to North Carolina. I love everything about it.

Q: What is your favorite thing about this team?

A: We work very hard. We believe in each other when we are on the field and push each other when we are off of it, and it showed last year. We pushed each other really well. We never accepted par, we always wanted better from each other and it showed on the field.