The NC State softball team lost 9-3 to Syracuse in the second game of its first ACC series of the season.
It was too little too late for the Pack (17-3, 1-1 ACC) as it couldn’t catch up to Syracuse (10-5, 1-1 ACC), especially its starting pitcher Lindsey Hendrix, who had a no-hitter going through the first 3.2 innings.
On the Wolfpack side, graduate pitcher Maddie McPherson was originally slated to start in the circle for the Pack but was a late scratch, with the start instead going to redshirt sophomore Sam Gress. Gress threw the first 1.2 innings, giving up three earned runs before being relieved by redshirt sophomore Aisha Weixlmann who gave up four earned runs of her own while striking out two in 4.1 innings. Gress came back in to pitch the seventh but was unable to get out of that inning unscathed, giving up another two earned runs on a two-run home run.
When asked about a status update on McPherson, head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift said, “She just wasn’t feeling 100% and we just wanted to switch things up a little bit last minute.”
Three errors for the Pack definitely did not help against this Syracuse team who scored the first four runs of the afternoon in the first three innings.
That lead would have been greater if not for a play in the first where a Syracuse baserunner was hit by a hit ball while running towards third for an out which took away all the momentum the Orange seemed to be building up.
Syracuse grabbed that momentum back quickly though, taking a 3-0 lead in the second and loading the bases at the start of the inning on a single, fielder’s choice and hit by pitch before scoring on another single and a huge double.
A solo shot for Syracuse’s Neli Casares-Maher to start the third expanded the lead to 4-0 but NC State was able to cut that in half scoring two runs in the fourth on a clutch single from redshirt sophomore infielder Libby Whittaker who had come in to pinch hit.
Three straight base hits to start the fifth inning gave the Orange one of those runs back, and the rally didn’t stop there as it tacked on another two for the 7-2 lead on a single and a fielder’s choice.
A two-run homer in the top of the seventh brought the score to 9-2. While NC State was able to take one run back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from fifth-year infielder Logan Morris, its offense throughout the afternoon was never able to produce the rally it needed to get back into the game.
“We just didn’t make adjustments,” Patrick-Swift said. “Our game plan that we had last night worked and we had a similar game plan today and we didn’t execute. We had six hits, but we only had three going into the seventh inning so that’s just not going to get it done. So unfortunately today we didn’t play NC State softball, but the sun will come up tomorrow and we’ll try and get the series tomorrow.”
The rubber match of the series is scheduled for Sunday, March 6 at 12 p.m. at Dail Softball Stadium in Raleigh.
