NC State softball kept moving along in Columbia, South Carolina in the second day of the Garnet and Black Invitational, winning its first game against Michigan State 3-1 but falling 14-4 to Minnesota in the afternoon.
The Pack (17-5, 1-9 ACC) was 1-0 throughout the first day of play, defeating Northwestern on Friday, March 15, but could not finish the invitational undefeated after Saturday’s matchups. Michigan State (12-12) proved to be too slow on offense and could not keep up with the dominant pitching from redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Aisha Weixlmann, but the Pack got a taste of its own medicine against Minnesota (14-12).
Game one versus Michigan State
Weixlmann got her seventh win of the season in the circle for the red-and-white, along with tying her career-high in strikeouts with nine by the end of the contest. With only one hit and one run against her, the Charlotte native is proving to be a great asset for the Pack on the mound.
The NC State defense got off to a quick start, making three quick plays to get the three up, three down at the top of the first inning and sending the Pack to the plate for some scoring opportunities. Junior right fielder Taylor Ensley got on base with a solid double during her first at-bat and was quickly joined by sophomore center fielder Ellie Goins who walked to first. Enlsey immediately stole home while Goins stole second and put the Pack on the scorecard at 1-0.
With two runners left on base and two outs on the scoreboard, senior left fielder Tori Ensley struck out swinging and put the Wolfpack back on defense.
Another quick top of the inning ran in the Pack’s second run of the game during the bottom of the second. At her first at-bat of the game, junior third baseman Hannah Goodwin sent a rocket into left center field, tallying her third homer of the season and putting NC State up 2-0 heading into the third.
The Spartans got on the board at the top of the fourth inning on a home run of their own. Sydney Doloszycki drove a hit up the left field line and brought herself back to home plate with some quick baserunning.
Once again, the Pack left runners on base at the bottom of the fourth, but the team scored its third and final run at the bottom of the fifth inning. Taylor Ensley was brought home on a fielding error by the Spartans, making the final score 3-1.
Game two versus Minnesota
With a 2-0 record in the invitational, all eyes were on the Pack to keep this winning momentum going. Things started off strong for both NC State and Minnesota, with both teams going three up, three down in their time on defense, but it was in the second inning where the Golden Gophers took off and never looked back.
The red-and-white cycled through four different pitchers during the matchup, with sophomore right-handed pitcher Rylee Wyman getting the start in the circle and pitching for 2.1 innings. After allowing four runs off of one hit, she was replaced by sophomore right-handed pitcher Madison Inscoe who met a similar fate.
Minnesota tallied seven runs off of three hits during the bottom of the second inning, pulling ahead with a 7-0 lead on the scorecard and leaving the Pack in the dust. NC State gained some momentum of its own at the top of the third inning, but the Golden Gophers came back at the bottom of the same inning and took control once again.
During the fourth inning junior shortstop Alaina Smith made it to home plate after being walked during her at bat, scoring the Pack’s first run of the game. The red-and-white scored three more points off of a double by sophomore catcher Amanda Hasler, making the score 7-4. Minnesota went back on the offense and scored four more runs of its own, gaining a 11-4 lead.
The fifth and final inning was the nail on the coffin for the Pack, with the Gophers scoring three more runs to bring the final score to 14-4 and ending the game in five innings.
