The NC State softball team continued to find ways to win as it took down the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 5-2 on Sunday, Mar. 7.
Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Abby Trahan (3.0 IP, 0 ER ,3 K) held the Yellow Jackets at bay long enough for redshirt junior outfielder Sam Russ (2-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB) to walk it off with a homer for the second time in the series.
Neither NC State (11-3, 7-3 ACC) nor GT (6-13, 1-9 ACC) started quickly, as redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Sydney Nester (4.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 K, 3 BB) went into a duel in the early innings with Georgia Tech’s left-handed pitcher Madison McPherson (5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 K). McPherson was the first to blink when she allowed a solo home run to redshirt junior infielder Randi Farricker (1-3, HR, RBI), Farricker’s third homer of the weekend.
“She saw the ball really well,” said head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift. “The big thing with her was that she was getting after it early and often all weekend… She just knew that if they were near the zone that she was going to attack it and I think that’s why she had such a successful weekend.”
The Yellow Jackets quickly answered with a solo home run of their own in the top of the third, as Georgia Tech outfielder Cameron Stanford went yard to tie the game at one. Two innings later, Georgia Tech designated player Breanna Roper followed suit with a dinger of her own, signifying a 2-1 lead for the Yellow Jackets and the end of Nester’s stint in the circle. Patrick-Swift’s call to the bullpen proved to be a good one as Trahan proceeded to toss three shutout innings to earn the win.
Facing a one-run deficit with one out in the bottom of the sixth, Russ hit a fly ball off the top of the wall and cruised into second base as the tying run. Redshirt senior outfielder Tatyana Forbes (1-3, RBI) then scorched a line drive past the shortstop that rolled all the way to the wall to drive Russ home and put the go-ahead run on second base for redshirt junior infielder Logan Morris (0-3, 2 K).
The Pack failed to break the tie in the sixth as Morris and Farricker both flew out to end the inning. Despite the missed opportunity, NC State’s strategy of hitting the ball in the air paid dividends.
“That is our mindset, to try to get the ball in the air as much as possible,” Russ said. “The pitchers were helping us out a bit, keeping it up in the zone, so that made our job a little easier.”
After Trahan took care of business in the top of the frame, the Pack engineered its second walk-off victory of the series. Redshirt junior catcher Sam Sack (1-3) poked a single past the first baseman and put the winning run on base, but a strikeout and a fly out from the next two batters threatened to strand that winning run and take the game to extra innings.
Freshman infielder Kaylee Lambrecht (0-2, HBP) kept the inning alive by absorbing a hit by pitch, bringing Russ to the plate. Russ improved her team’s chances by working the count to 3-1 before capitalizing on that chance by sending the next pitch flying over the fence in right-center field to clinch the NC State victory.
“I was locked in, ready for the chance to walk the game off,” Russ said. “[Georgia Tech right-handed pitcher Palmer Pinholster] started with three balls nowhere near the zone, so I wasn’t quite sure if she was going to throw to me or not. On the 3-0 strike, I knew she was going to come back in with another strike, so I was ready for it.”
The Wolfpack has won seven of its last eight games, but Patrick-Swift and her team are taking it one game at a time.
“The big thing that we always tell our team is that it doesn’t matter who’s in the other dugout,” Patrick-Swift said. “Rankings go out the window, stats go out the window… When the lights come on Friday night, the team that plays the best game that day is going to win. Our girls really believe that and it’s true. The teams that let all of the things and the outside noise get to them and give advantages to the other team before they even play, those are the teams that tend to get beat.”
The Wolfpack will host another four-game series starting on Friday, March 12 against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Friday’s game will be aired on the ACC Network at 5 p.m.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Sydney Nester prepares for a pitch during the game versus the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Sunday, March 7, 2021 in Dail Stadium. The Wolfpack beat the Yellow Jackets 5-2.
