In the 10 years since NC State captured its second ACC softball title in Tallahassee, Florida, the Wolfpack has never quite managed to once again climb atop the conference standings. This season, a championship looks farther away than ever — in a whirlwind of embarrassing losses and coaching shakeups, the softball team is possibly NC State’s most disoriented program.

And really, can you blame them? Nine members of the roster are freshmen, and redshirt junior Libby Whittaker is the only fourth-year member of the team who’s been with the Pack since her freshman year. Former head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift and assistant coach Patrick Swift were unceremoniously let go after an abysmal start to the season. Under their leadership, the red-and-white has lost by a margin of at least seven runs eight times in 2023.

With that being said, it hasn’t been all downhill. Since Patrick-Swift’s departure in early March, the Wolfpack has won five games. NC State’s series sweep over ACC rival Boston College was a much-needed confidence boost for a team set to face some tough competition in the weeks ahead, including No. 12 LSU and No. 5 Clemson.

All the good, bad and ugly in between probably won’t be going away anytime soon. NC State won’t find a replacement for Patrick-Swift until the end of the season, and the remaining assistant coaches — Deven Boland and Carson Shaner — are here to stay, at least for a little bit. We’ll see how much turnover the team sees this summer, but let’s face it: there are 28 games left before the ACC tournament kicks off in South Bend, Indiana. That’s plenty of softball to get through before substantial changes can be made during the offseason.

Obviously, it’s easier to root for a team that performs well. There’s no fun in watching your school get blown out by a lower-league Division I opponent who has no business even making it past first base. Regardless, there’s something to be said for showing up for the teams with losing records — they’re a part of the Wolfpack, too.

Our men’s basketball team posted an abysmal 11-21 record last season before making it to the NCAA tournament this season for the first time in five years, so who’s to say our softball team can’t bounce back in similar fashion? New talent like freshmen right-handed pitcher Madison Inscoe and catcher Amanda Hasler look incredibly promising. And despite the losses, the team is improving — before Patrick-Swift’s departure, the Pack was 5-10. Since then, the team has gone 5-7, racking up the same number of wins in slightly fewer games.

I’m not telling you to manage your expectations — at this point, the bar is on the floor, even if you’re a diehard NC State softball fan. We can all cross our fingers and hope for an unlikely comeback, but that shouldn’t be the hill students should die on. Instead, support the team by showing up to games at Dail, embrace its victories and understand the losses, even if they’re tough to swallow.