NC State softball opened its three-game series against Boston College with an emphatic 19-5 run-rule victory in Chestnut Hill Friday afternoon.
The Wolfpack (19-11, 3-4 ACC) came into the game just off a series win against Notre Dame and kept the momentum rolling. Boston College (11-12, 0-7 ACC) looked to snag its first conference win of the season and to stop a six-game losing streak but the Wolfpack never gave the Eagles a chance.
The Pack’s offense had a day as it totaled 15 hits in five innings. By the third inning, NC State was up 14-0, scoring three in the first, four in the second and seven in the third. With five more runs in the final two innings, the Pack scored 19 runs, tying for third-most in a single game in program history and most under second-year head coach Lindsay Leftwich.
The Wolfpack’s depth was a major reason it put up a big number on the scoreboard as 10 players recorded at least one hit. The biggest standout was junior catcher Hannah Church who hit two home runs in the game, the first being a two-run homer in the first, and the second being a three-run homer in the third. Church also hit a two-run double in the second inning.
Church recorded the most hits in the game with four while redshirt junior first baseman Michele Tarpey was close behind with two. Tarpey scored three runs on the ground. Seven other players for NC State recorded hits as well, with a standout being a three-run homer from senior third baseman Hannah Goodwin.
On the mound, junior pitcher Wynne Gore pitched the entire game, allowing just five hits. Even though the Eagles snagged four runs in the fourth, Gore locked back in for the fifth inning, forcing three groundouts to secure the run-rule victory.
As the Wolfpack moves forward after this game, it now has a big opportunity to use its performance today as a confidence booster and get a road series win. While Boston College does not have a win in the ACC, a road series is a road series, and getting a sweep this weekend would give the Pack a winning conference record at the end of it. Luckily for the Pack, winning breeds confidence, and it will surely look to continue its dominant hitting in this game later in the series.
NC State will play the second game in its series with Boston College on Saturday in Chestnut Hill. The game is slated to start at 1 p.m.
