NC State softball dominantly defeated Illinois 4-0 Sunday afternoon at Dail Softball Stadium as junior right-handed pitcher Rylee Wyman pitched a shutout, only giving up one hit.
With seven strikeouts and only giving up one walk and one hit, W-yman put on a clinic on the mound, keeping the Pack (10-5) out of reach from the Fighting Illini (7-6).
“I’m very joyful,” Wyman said. “Playing with this team like they are. They make it so easy to play, and everyone does their job, and it’s just a great atmosphere.”
Wyman and the Pack kept her no-hitter alive for the first five innings, where the defense made fantastic plays in the infield to keep Illinois off of the bases. Illinois didn’t get its first base runner until the fourth inning with a walk. Wyman had retired 11 straight batters up until then.
“I have no doubts with my defense,” Wyman said. “I know they’re gonna make a play, anywhere, and they are just gonna make an out happen and just bust their way out there to get that out. They make amazing plays all the time. It’s kind of crazy to watch.”
Head coach Lindsay Leftwich discussed the advantages of having such great pitching on the mound.
“I think the entire staff has done a good job of just being the best at what they do, and playing their role well,” Leftwich said. “To have Riley come out against a team that has scored a ton of runs this weekend and put up a one-hitter, it was giant.”
On the offensive side, senior right fielder Taylor Ensley led the team with three RBIs and two hits, including one homerun crushed over the left field wall. Ensley’s other hit was a two-run triple off of the wall to give the Pack a four-run lead.
Leftwich feels confident going into ACC play with Taylor Ensley and her sister, sophomore left fielder Tori Ensley putting up solid performances this weekend. Tori Ensley was coming off of a three-RBI performance in its previous game against Northern Colorado but struggled against the Fighting Illini, going 0-4.
“Both the Ensleys had a really interesting weekend where one day, they were really hot and one day, they were not,” Leftwich said. “[Taylor] didn’t swing great yesterday, and then put it together today. You’re always looking for — ‘the most important pitch is the next one’ — just remembering that it doesn’t matter what happened yesterday. I gotta go and get my best swing off.”
The other Wolfpack batter to earn an RBI was freshman shortstop Kendall Simmers, who knocked a double off of the left field wall to get the scoring started early in the first inning.
NC State softball next will see action on Wednesday as it takes on Campbell at 4 p.m. at Dail Softball Stadium.
