Danny Boemermann
More than 300 spectators were on-hand to witness history Wednesday afternoon as the softball team defeated UNC-Greensboro 3-1 in the first game at the newly-built Curtis and Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium.
The win brought N.C. State to 7-8 overall, but brought the Wolfpack to 1-0 in its new on-campus facility. Coach Lisa Navas summed up the win in a word: Relief.
The game was preceded by a special opening ceremony featuring the ceremonial first pitch thrown by Jacqueline Dail, for whom, along with her husband, the stadium is named.
“I was a little nervous about it to start with,” Jacqueline said. “And then I decided no matter how much I practice, I’m not going to do any good, so I’m just going to go out there and throw the ball.”
She admitted that she had practiced her pitching a few hours, and it seemed to have helped as the first pitch was just a tad outside.
“I’m not an athlete,” Jacqueline said. “But it was fun.”
When Jacqueline left the mound, she was replaced by junior Lindsay Campana, who pitched a one-hitter through five innings and picked up three strikeouts. Campana, who picked up the win, was all smiles after the Pack collected the win in front of the home crowd.
“We had so much support. I mean, it was a full house,” she said. “I’m from a small town, so playing this big was really cool.”
Junior Mendy McKenzie allowed no hits but gave up a run in two innings of relief work for State. Offensively, however, the Pack left a lot to be desired, stranding 14 runners on base.
“I wish we would have taken care of some opportunities,” Navas said. “We have the capability of scoring a lot, but we hold ourselves back.”
The players lamented that it had a lot to do with the excitement behind the game, which had been building up since the stadium was finished in the fall.
“We all got a little excited,” senior centerfielder Blair Harkey said. “The first couple of innings we were all tense up there at bat, but we calmed down and scored some runs and took care of it.”
Harkey had the first run batted in at Dail Softball Stadium late in the fifth inning, but the first run was scored on a wild pitch as freshman catcher Alyssa Allbritten slid under a tag at the plate to put the Pack ahead 1-0. State scored again on an error before Harkey came to the plate and singled to left to score Claudia Cooper, who had reached base after being hit by a pitch.
Amber Harrell took the loss for UNC-Greensboro (7-7), but Harkey indicated it was hard for her to imagine the Pack dropping its first contest in its new home.
“We say it everyday, ‘Protect this house,'” Harkey said. “We don’t want anyone to come in here and beat us.”
The Pack won’t have to worry about home security for a few weeks, however, as the team will be hitting the road to play in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Georgia this weekend before heading to Clearwater, Fla., the next weekend for the USF Under Armour Invitational, where it is slated to play Team USA, among several other college teams.
Still, getting the first home victory in as many tries was a good sign, according to senior shortstop Shanna Smith.
“It felt good to see the fans and hear the music playing and finally get to play today,” she said. “This win is gonna help us moving into this long weekend over spring break and push us to practice hard.”
Harkey echoed Smith’s sentiments.
“This is what we’ve been looking forward to and practicing for,” she said. “We’re glad to have it under our belt.”