After winning both games on the first day of the Joan Joyce Classic hosted, NC State softball couldn’t carry the momentum into the second day, falling 7-0 in a rematch with Purdue and losing 4-3 to host FAU.
Game 1
Though it scored four runs in the first two innings of its first matchup against Purdue, the Wolfpack failed to replicate any of the success the second time it faced the Boilermakers. From start to finish, Purdue was in full control of the game, drawing first blood in the bottom of the first inning after NC State recorded just one hit in the top of the first.
The Wolfpack recorded a single hit in the top of the second but nothing came of it. Junior right-handed pitcher Madison Inscoe shook off her rocky first inning to hold the Boilermakers hitless in the second inning. NC State once again struggled in the batter’s box, recording just one hit for the third straight inning, giving Purdue an easy opportunity to further its lead.
The Boilermakers recorded a hit on the opening at-bat of the third inning, forcing head coach Lindsay Leftwich to call into the bullpen for junior right-handed pitcher Rylee Wyman, replacing Inscoe after just two innings. But two walks, two errors and two hits allowed Purdue to leap ahead and by the time all was said and done, the black-and-gold had leaped to a 5-0 lead after three innings.
NC State failed to get the bats going, recording just one hit through the final four innings. Besides a two-run homer late in the fifth inning, the Boilermakers were in no rush to draw out the game any longer. With the lead comfortably in hand, Purdue simply allowed pitcher Madi Elish to carry it to victory. By the end of the game, Elish recorded six strikeouts while allowing just four hits and one walk.
Game 2
Unlike its earlier match, NC State drew blood in the top of the first inning. After a triple from senior right fielder Taylor Ensley, junior designated hitter Hannah Church drilled a single down the middle of the field, bringing Ensley home and putting the Wolfpack on the board early.
Starting sophomore right-handed pitcher Carly Maxton struggled in her first few pitches, hitting the opening batter with the pitch and advancing her to second base on a wild pitch. However, Maxton recorded three straight outs to make up for her earlier mistakes.
Junior second baseman MaKayla Marbury opened the second inning with a double and was in jeopardy of being left on base after back-to-back strikeouts, but junior center fielder Ellie Goins singled to left field, allowing Marbury to cross home plate and record the Wolfpack’s second run of the evening. Once again, Maxton allowed no room for retaliation as she sent the Owls three up, three down in the bottom of the second.
Church stepped up again in the third inning, crushing her second home run of the season to give NC State a 3-0 lead. After being shut out earlier in the day, it looked as though the red-and-white had firm control of the game. But it all went wrong in the bottom of the third.
The first three FAU batters all reached the base with two hits and an error, respectively. Maxton forced two outs to put the pressure on the Owls, but just as NC State thought it had regained control, a throwing error allowed FAU to score its first run of the game. With the bases loaded, FAU’s Chloe Yeatts crushed a bases-clearing double, giving the Owls its first lead of the evening at 4-3.
From that point on, the Owls’ pitching staff took over and the Wolfpack didn’t record another hit until the seventh inning, but it was too little too late. FAU may not have scored again, but NC State failed to round the bases and secure the game-tying run, giving it its second loss of the day.
The Wolfpack will return for the final game of the Joan Joyce Classic against Minnesota tomorrow. First pitch is set for 8:30 a.m.
