The NC State softball team split its doubleheader with the No. 16 Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday, March 13, by winning the first game 8-0 and losing the next one 12-2. The former result was highlighted by outstanding performances from redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Abby Trahan and redshirt junior shortstop Randi Farricker. Meanwhile, the latter game was marked by another shutdown of the Wolfpack offense by Virginia Tech right-handed pitcher Keely Rochard
The first game was shaping up to be just as competitive as the series opener. The Pack (12-5, 8-5 ACC) trotted out Trahan as its starter and Virginia Tech (9-3, 6-3 ACC) sent out right-handed pitcher Ivy Rosenberry, and the two starters combined to retire the first nine batters of the game.
This precedent was broken when NC State began to knock the ball around the park in the bottom of the second. Redshirt junior third baseman Logan Morris hit a lead-off double down the right field line, and she was promptly driven home on a triple by Farricker. Farricker would also score on a groundout to first base to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Wolfpack by the end of the inning.
Trahan first faced trouble in the top of the third when she allowed a flurry of singles to load the bases after putting away her first seven batters. Trahan escaped the jam by forcing Virginia Tech designated player Grace Chavez to fly out to right. Trahan managed to maintain the shutout in the fourth inning as well, as the Hokies put runners on first and second with one out via a walk and a single. Trahan forced a pop out and a flyouts to once again prevent Virginia Tech from getting on the scoreboard.
The rest of the first game became an offensive spectacle for NC State, as Farricker belted her sixth home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the fourth and extend the lead to 3-0. The Wolfpack proceeded to pour on the offense in the fifth with a succession of singles that culminated in a 2-RBI single by Morris to set the score at 5-0.
After redshirt senior center fielder Angie Rizzi was caught trying to steal third base, NC State put two final nails in the coffin as Farricker and redshirt junior catcher Sam Sack went yard back-to-back to end the game 8-0 in the fifth inning.
NC State was less fortunate in the second game of the doubleheader, as the Pack’s bullpen imploded in a decisive 12-2 siix-inning victory for the Hokies. Trahan once again got the ball to start the game as she now faced off against Virginia Tech’s Rochard, who struck out a dozen State batters in the series opener. Despite a valiant effort from Trahan, the Hokies’ ace emerged victorious.
The two squads traded punches in the first inning as the Hokies squeezed two runs out of a two-out rally and the Wolfpack evened up the score at two apiece with an RBI triple by redshirt senior right fielder Tatyana Forbes and a sacrifice fly by Sack.
The two aforementioned starters quelled the offensive action until the fourth inning, when Trahan was the first to stumble and Virginia Tech broke the deadlock with a solo home run by third baseman Kelsey Bennett. Trahan proceeded to allow two more baserunners before NC State head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift made the call to the bullpen, bringing out redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Sydney Nester to pitch.
Following a successful double steal by the Hokies, Nester surrendered a double down the right field line that scored two more runs for Tech, putting its lead at 5-2, before stopping the bleeding with a flyout to end the frame.
After a 1-2-3 inning by Rochard, Virginia Tech tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning. Once Nester gave up a single and a walk to start the inning, freshman left-handed pitcher Estelle Czech came on in relief. Similarly to Nester, Czech struggled to stop the Hokies from padding their lead, though only one of her five runs allowed were earned runs.
Virginia Tech piled up its lead in the top of the sixth with five additional runs to make it a 12-2 ballgame on the back of four hits, a walk and a Wolfpack error. Freshman right-handed pitcher Brooklyn Lucero was substituted in for Czech to make the last out of the frame, once again stopping the bleeding for the Pack. Despite earning two walks and a single in the bottom of the sixth, NC State lost the latter half of the doubleheader to Virginia Tech, 12-2.
NC State will take on the Hokies on Sunday, March 14, for the series finale at Dail Softball Stadium. The first pitch will take place at 2 p.m. and the game will be available on the ACC Network.
