NC State softball picked up its third win halfway through its 10-game, early-season homestretch, beating Elon in its first mercy-rule win this season.
The Wolfpack (3-7) has now won three straight games against the Phoenix (4-6), and this time, the Pack won in five innings, 11-3.
The Pack drew first blood in the bottom of the second, collecting a few singles and drawing a walk to put the score at 1-0. With the bases loaded, freshman shortstop Makayla Marbury then blasted a grand slam to drive in four more runs and leave the inning with a 5-0 lead. Marbury earned a walk in her next three appearances and crossed the plate an additional time in the fifth.
NC State poured it on in the third, starting with sophomore designated hitter Tayler Ensley’s solo home run to lead off the inning. Another run from a wild pitch, the Pack sat pretty at 7-0 inside Dail Softball Stadium. All in all, Ensley went two for four on the day, tallied a double and rounded the bases twice.
The Phoenix finally responded in the fourth frame after a one-out error kept the inning alive, breaking the shutout and putting the score at 7-1.
Elon tacked on two more runs at the top of the fifth, cutting the lead to 7-3, but the Wolfpack wasn’t finished just yet. Graduate center fielder Rebecca Murray led off the inning with a single. Shortly after, Marbury walked, then advanced to second on a wild pitch, pushing Murray to third.
With runners in scoring position once again, graduate left fielder Katelyn Pavlick nailed a three-run homer, bringing in Murray and Marbury and putting the score at 10-3. NC State’s final run was scored off of a single by redshirt junior first baseman Libby Whittaker.
Pavlick had a fantastic day at the plate, going three for three with her three-run homer as well as two doubles on her scorecard. That homer was her second of the year, and her two doubles were the first and second this season. She continues to stay steady at the top of the hitting lineup with a .368 batting average and a .789 slugging percentage.
Over the course of the game, the Pack showed great discipline at the plate, only striking out three times and drawing eight walks. As a team, it went 14-27 overall and had seven extra-base hits out of those 14 total hits.
Two freshman right-handed pitchers carried the load on the mound for the Wolfpack. Madison Inscoe picked up her third win of the season, only allowing two hits and not letting up a single run in three innings. Wynne Gore came in to pitch two innings, but allowed three runs.
The Wolfpack will stay in Raleigh for five straight games to host the Wolfpack Classic. NC State will face East Tennessee State and James Madison University twice, and Penn once. The four-day event begins on Feb. 23 and ends on Feb. 26. After those five games, the red-and-white will begin ACC play on the road at Virginia Tech.
