The NC State softball team has already proven to find great strides in its performance in its first 16 games. With a 14-2 record, the Wolfpack plays two more nonconference games before ACC competition. Let’s look at some of the highlights of the softball team that is currently on one of the best starts in program history.
Pitching
Redshirt sophomore Aisha Weixlmann has become a reliable starter this season. Her 2.03 ERA has helped her get to a 5-1 record. She leads the Pack in strikeouts, punching out 46 batters in 11 appearances. One of her best games was against Bowling Green, when she came in relief and struck out all five batters she faced to collect the save and end the game.
Redshirt sophomore Sam Gress has only made eight appearances so far this season, yet she has a 6-0 record to show off. Her current ERA is a bit higher, still an impressive 2.33 including 27 strikeouts and 0 home runs given up. Gress has become the workhorse pitcher, averaging around four to five innings a game. Most of her appearances have been five to six innings, taking the majority of the game, but not all.
That is when graduate pitcher Maddie McPherson comes in. She is 3-1 with an impressive 1.62 ERA and struck out 36 batters. McPherson has become a reliable relief pitcher for Weixlmann and Gress, but does have the ability to start and go for more innings. Two of the past three games, for example, she pitched over five innings. Perhaps more innings is a recent change as ACC play approaches.
Hitting
The team currently has a .357 batting average, 27 home runs and a .623 slugging percentage. Those high totals have contributed to a vast 110-39 scoring margin. The Wolfpack scoring so many more runs than its opponent has led to the fantastic start in the first 16 games of the season.
Fifth-year third baseman Logan Morris has been on fire at the plate recently. During the NC State invitational, she had a .692 batting average and eight runners batted in. On the season, she currently has a .523 batting average, 18 RBIs and a .909 slugging percentage.
Typically hitting first or second, sophomore second baseman Kaylee Lambrecht has been one of the most consistent hitters on the team. She holds a .434 batting average and a .736 slugging percentage. This is a vast difference from her totals her freshman year; a .143 batting average and .195 slugging percentage, despite appearing in 38 games. Her growth as a hitter has allowed the team to start the lineup strong, and has even brought in 15 batters thus far.
Graduate student first baseman Taylor Johnson is a new addition to the Pack lineup. She currently has a .368 batting average, 11 RBI and a .684 slugging percentage. Included in those numbers are four home runs that she has hit, two of which came from a Feb. 26 game against Central Connecticut.
Celebrating 400 wins
During this stretch of the season, head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift celebrated 400 career wins as a coach on Feb. 12. She is in her fourth year as head coach of the Wolfpack.
Coming up
NC State has two more nonconference games left until the start of ACC play. The Pack takes on Villanova at home on March 1 and Elon the next day on the road. Then the Pack will open at home against Syracuse for a three-day series to start conference play.
