Returning 16 players, nine seniors and all but one member of last year’s starting lineup, it’s no surprise that ACC coaches predicted the N.C. State softball team to repeat last year’s championship run.
According to senior pitcher Abbie Sims, an All-ACC performer last season, the No. 22 Wolfpack gained a confidence and swagger from last year’s success and the preseason hype.
“It’s encouraging, but I also think it lights that fire inside you that you’ve got to do it again,” Sims said. “Also it’s nice because in the past we never got the credit we thought we deserved, so it’s nice to see that other coaches in the ACC are finally realizing that we’re for real and we’re not messing around.”
In order to repeat last year’s success, the Pack will have to focus on daily improvement and not think about past success, coach Lisa Navas said.
“It was a wonderful year,” Navas said. “It was exciting, and we did some great things, but we’re a different team, even with one different starter out there.”
Navas said that being ranked No. 1 in the ACC will motivate other ACC teams to challenge State with its best performances and players.
“People aren’t saying ‘Oh well, let me look ahead, we’re only playing N.C. State,'” Navas said. “They’re going to give us their best pitcher and their best arsenal out there and we’re going to have to battle every game.”
The Pack will rely heavily on the play of its nine seniors as it opens play this weekend in the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill.
“The nine seniors this year are realizing that this is the last dance,” Sims said. “And we’re all walking around with mentality that it’s now or never. We all gained a lot of confidence from last year and we’re trying to instill that in the younger kids, especially the freshmen.”
The official season opener is against Ohio today at 12:30 p.m. The game is one of four State will play this weekend as a part of the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill. State will play two games on Saturday, facing Penn State at 12:30 p.m. and Gardner Webb at 3 p.m. The Pack will then conclude the weekend’s festivities with a showdown against Coastal Carolina Sunday at 2:30 on Sunday.
Senior pitcher Shaina Ervin, another first team All-ACC performer last season, said the rankings matter little to the team as they are looking to improve in practice in preparation for the tournament this weekend.
“I don’t think we really look at the rankings and things, because we don’t feel we’re defined by those,” Ervin said. “It’s just motivation to prove that it’s not a one-year thing. We’re not a one-hit wonder. This is us and this is how we play — we’re just going to show that again this year.”
Win or lose, coach Navas said it will be hard to follow up a season as successful as last year’s.
“I’m never going to be satisfied with what we have, because we want to push to get better and we’re going to learn from every situation,” Navas said. “We’ve got to get ready and we’ve got to get better.”
Projected Starters
Position Name Year Hometown
P Shaina Ervin Sr. Huntersville, N.C.
C Miranda Ervin Sr. Huntersville, N.C.
1B Lisa Nentwig Jr. Miami, Fla.
2B Laura Klem Sr. St. Anthony, Ind.
SS Shanna Smith Jr. Albemarle, N.C.
3B Jen Chamberlin Sr. San Mateo, Calif.
3B/DP Heather Gelbard Sr. Miami, Fla.
OF Megan Dalthorp Jr. Portland, Ore.
OF Blair Harkey Jr. Cleveland, N.C.
P/OF Abbie Sims Sr. Artesia, N.M.
