NC State softball played five games in Raleigh this past week and only lost once. Successful hitting and plenty of offense allowed the Wolfpack to best three different opponents.
The Wolfpack (25-13, 5-10 ACC) beat UNC-Wilmington (22-7) 3-2 on Tuesday, March 29, following that up with a 9-4 win over UNC-Charlotte (22-14). Finally, the Pack won two of three against Louisville (19-15, 3-6 ACC). The Pack won the first game 7-5, lost the second 7-9 and won the third 10-6.
Hitting
As a team, the batting averages for the last four games were around and even above .300. Against UNC-W, the team batting average was .136, but the Wolfpack pitching helped secure the win. The last game against Louisville, the Pack averaged .387, getting plenty of batters on base and scoring two home runs. The Pack had 10 total homers in the past five games, including four against Louisville.
Fifth-year third baseman Logan Morris continues to dominate on offense and maintains a season batting average of .425. She went six and 13 against Louisville, an impressive .462 batting average in the series. She also batted in three of the ten runs in game three, cashing in when her teammates got on base.
Freshman infielder Michele Tarpey had a fantastic performance at the plate against Louisville herself. She went 5 for 10 against them, a vast improvement from the Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill series.
Finally, graduate center fielder Brittany Jackson has shown some life in this past series. After going 0 for 13 recently this season, Jackson went 4 for 9 in the past four games including a homer and four RBIs in game one against Louisville. When Jackson is consistently hitting, the Wolfpack gets a boost in offense.
The high totals on offense help win games, but pitching is what saves games.
Pitching
Redshirt sophomore righty Aisha Weixlmann pitched consistently the past five games, even pitching a complete game against UNC-W. Against Louisville, she pitched around three innings each game and kept the amount of earned runs down for all three games. She officially recorded 100 strikeouts on the season in game two against Louisville, an impressive total that she continues to build on.
Graduate lefty Maddie McPherson has also seen plenty of action. Her 5.18 season ERA is less than desirable, but she performed well against UNC-C in games one and three against Louisville. Unfortunately, she allowed four earned runs in 0.1 innings in game two, which contributed to the loss for the Wolfpack. Nonetheless, McPherson continues to help win games for the Pack and stands at an 8-5 personal record.
Lastly, redshirt sophomore righty Sam Gress saw little action in the past five games. She pitched just over a full inning against UNC-C and less than one inning in game three for Louisville. She pitched 3.2 in game two. In game two, she only allowed two earned runs off of seven hits, performing well that game. However in game three, she gave up four earned runs in just one frame, a less than stellar performance.
Next up, the Wolfpack will play one more game at home against Longwood. Then, the Wolfpack travels to Columbia, South Carolina to compete in the Garnet and Black Round Robin. The Pack will face Elon and South Carolina in alternating games of two each.
