The NC State softball team came out on the losing end of a back-and-forth game with the Louisville Cardinals, falling 9-7 at Dail Softball Stadium on Saturday, April 2.
The Pack (24-13, 4-10 ACC) broke the game open in the bottom of the second with a five-run inning, but the Cardinals (19-14, 3-5 ACC) retaliated with seven runs in the top of the fourth to surge ahead. NC State knotted it up at 7-7 in the fifth, but Louisville knocked a go-ahead, two-run double with two outs in the seventh to pull ahead for good.
Redshirt sophomore designated player Libby Whittaker led the charge for the Wolfpack in the batter’s box. Whittaker hit the team’s only home run of the day, a two-run moonshot to left to give the Pack a 3-0 lead in the second. Whittaker’s homer made her the only NC State batter to go yard and the only one to finish with multiple RBIs on the day.
Fifth-year third baseman Logan Morris and fifth-year center field Brittany Jackson also logged multiple hits for the Pack. Although graduate shortstop Randi Farricker, graduate right fielder Taylor Johnson and Whittaker all notched a pair walks as NC State found multiple ways to reach base, it still wasn’t enough to get the job done.
With both teams putting crooked numbers on the scoreboard, the pitchers’ ability to mitigate the damage proved to be the difference between winning and losing. For NC State, redshirt sophomore righty Aisha Weixlmann got the start after tossing 3.2 innings in the series opener. Weixlmann managed to hold off the Cardinals for a while, but eventually got pulled after giving up three runs to start the fourth.
Graduate southpaw Maddie McPherson entered in relief, but failed to stop the bleeding as she continued her recent slump. The Cardinals tacked on four more runs against McPherson to take a 7-5 lead before the lefty exited with only one out to show for her work. Going back to March 18’s series opener against Virginia, McPherson has given up 31 earned runs in her last 19 innings.
Redshirt sophomore righty Sam Gress took over from there, getting NC State out of the inning with no further damage, but the Wolfpack was never able to catch up. One out away from giving her team a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh, Gress faltered by allowing a two-run double to center to finalize the scoreline.
Even with the sweep is now out of reach, NC State will get another shot to clinch the series in the rubber match on Sunday, April 3. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
