Last season, the N.C. State softball team had to overcome a tough trip west before going on a fantastic run and ultimately claiming the ACC Tournament Championship. In 2014, the Wolfpack will face a similar task.
N.C. State dropped five-of-six games in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. to open its season, culminated by 5-0 defeat to No. 8 Oregon in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday.
The Pack earned its first win of the season in its first game Saturday, beating Boise State, 6-1, behind the pitching of junior Emily Weiman. The reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year pitched all seven innings against Boise State and Oregon, yielding a combined six runs on 15 hits, while striking out 22 batters and walking eight.
Hitting leaders for N.C. State in Arizona included sophomore third-baseman Lana Van Dyken and senior catcher Kirsty Grant. Van Dyken went six-for-14 at the plate to lead the squad with a .429 batting average. Grant batted .375 and tied Van Dyken for the team lead with six hits as well.
Freshman left-fielder Molly Hutchison also showed some pop at the dish, slugging two home runs in her first two collegiate games and leading the Pack with 11 total bases while batting .313 in the tournament.
“I would like to see everybody have a great year,” head coach Shawn Rychcik said. “It’s a great weekend of experience for the younger kids to take advantage of, so if we have to use them come conference time, they will have at least played in some big games.”
“I am looking for consistency, not big years,” Rychcik said. “Consistency from the whole lineup would be great. I could take a whole lineup of .270 hitters because I will know what to do with them. If you get somebody that streaks, gets 12 hits in a weekend and then does not hit for another week, it is hard to work a lineup around. I am just looking constantly for good at-bats throughout the lineup.”
State started on the wrong foot against top-tier competition on Thursday. The Wolfpack, which received votes for the top-25 prior to the season, dropped two contests to Pac-12 foes, falling to Oregon State, 6-2, and losing the nightcap, 9-1, to No. 22 Stanford.
The Wolfpack was swept once again on Friday, dropping a, 1-0, nail-biter to Fresno State before falling to the hosts, No. 8 Arizona State, 9-1, in the second game of the twin bill. Weiman struggled against the Sun Devils, allowing five runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
“I see some holes in our game that we probably had last year that we got sealed up in April when we got on that really good roll,” Rychick said. “All we get from last year is a bulls-eye. That is all that transfers over. Teams are coming after us. We can’t sit on what we did last year. We are not that team right now.”
N.C. State will resume action on Friday when the Wolfpack travels to Fayetteville, Ark. to compete in the University of Arkansas Invitational. State opens play with a doubleheader against St. John’s and tournament host Arkansas on Friday, followed by a doubleheader against Butler and Missouri-Kansas City Saturday.
