NC State softball kicked off its last series of the regular season on Friday, May 5 when the team took on the Pitt Panthers in a heated contest that culminated in a 10-9 loss for the Pack.
Having lost every ACC series it’s played on the road this season, the Wolfpack (18-33, 6-16 ACC) came into the series opener with something to prove. For the majority of the game, it seemed like the red-and-white would win game one and get a step closer to taking the series, but the Panthers (22-25, 4-17 ACC) put up five runs in the bottom of the seventh and scored the only run in extra innings to steal the victory.
The game got off to a slow start — although both teams managed to put a runner in scoring position in the first inning, neither was able to score. However, the Pack completely flipped the script in the second frame, playing arguably its best inning of the season. NC State scored five runs on four hits, with the majority of the credit going to graduate center fielder Rebecca Murray, who nailed her first grand slam of the season.
The red-and-white continued to dominate in the bottom of the second, allowing the Panthers to get on base but preventing them from scoring. Despite this impressive showing from the Wolfpack, Pitt soon proved that this game would be characterized by dramatic shifts in momentum.
The Panthers nearly tied the game in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs on two hits after the Pack went three up, three down in the top of the inning. The two teams’ styles of play were strikingly similar – it was either all or nothing. In the fourth inning, it was nothing; neither team was able to record a hit.
Graduate left fielder Katlyn Pavlick shattered the silence when she led off in the fifth inning with a home run to turn the momentum back in favor of the Wolfpack and put the score at 6-4. NC State held the Panthers scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings, and Pavlick notched another home run in the sixth to put the Pack’s lead at four.
After loading the bases in the seventh, the red-and-white extended its lead to five after sophomore third baseman Hannah Goodwin singled to score junior second baseman Kaylee Lambrecht. Heading into the bottom of the final inning, it seemed that the Pack was in the clear — but Pitt was eager to prove that the visiting team had gotten a little too comfortable.
The Wolfpack recorded two outs fairly early on, but the Panthers weren’t quick to back down, notching an unearned run after an error by redshirt junior first baseman Libby Whitaker to bring the score to 9-5. Just a couple of batters later, Pitt hit a grand slam of its own to tie the game at 9-9 and send the contest into extra innings.
The Panthers allowed zero hits in the eighth and recorded one run of their own to secure the victory.
The Pack will be back in action in Pittsburgh when it takes on the Panthers in game two of the three-game series at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 6.
