When it rains, it pours, and when NC State softball scored against North Carolina A&T Friday afternoon, it scored often.
Across 11 innings and two games, the Wolfpack (16-11) scored 22 runs to bury the Aggies (7-19). Along the way, the team broke a record for career stolen bases, a record now owned by redshirt junior outfielder Sam Russ.
Game one
The first game against the Aggies showcased how good the Wolfpack can be when it fires on all cylinders. Freshman infielder Kaylee Lambrecht got NC State on the board with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the second that would be the deciding factor in the game. Unfortunately for the Aggies, things only got worse.
Russ hit a single in the same inning to extend the Wolfpack lead to three, and redshirt junior infielder Logan Morris hit a double to make it a 5-0 game early.
On the other side of the field, redshirt senior Abby Trahan had one of her finer outings as a pitcher for the Wolfpack. In six innings of work, Trahan struck out 11 batters and allowed only one hit.
In the sixth inning of the game, history was made with Russ getting her second stolen base of the game and the 87th in her career, standing alone at the top of the NC State leaderboard in that category. The previous record was held by Shanna Smith, who played from 2005-08. Smith had 86 stolen bases in 258 games, while Russ got her 87th in just her 153rd game.
An RBI double from redshirt junior catcher Sam Sack put an exclamation on the scoring, adding a seventh run on the board for the Wolfpack. An eighth run off an error would stop the bleeding for the Aggies and end the game on a mercy rule.
“I knew for the last couple games it was coming,” said head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift. “And obviously coming into this year, we expected her to [break the record]. We are super excited she’s got a heck of a lot more games in an NC State uniform. I’d take her speed and her jump against any catcher in the country, and I feel 10 out of 10 times that Sam’s gonna get there. She’s just an unbelievable spark in our lineup.”
Game two
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Sydney Nester got the start in the second game and picked up where Trahan left off, striking out one and allowing no one on base in the top of the first inning. The bottom of the first went in almost the exact direction for the Aggies, who started off walking three NC State batters, hitting redshirt junior infielder Randi Farricker with a pitch, and then giving up a sacrifice fly to Sack to give the Wolfpack an early 1-0 lead.
Nester followed up the 1-2-3 inning in the first inning with an at-times shaky, but persistent, second inning. She started out the top of the second with two strikeouts, before two well-hit balls to right field put runners on second and third, followed up by a walk to load the bases.
Nester couldn’t stop the Aggies from scoring, but held them to just one run in the second with her fourth strikeout.
As soon as the Aggies tied it, however, NC State got the lead back. Two singles preceded a three-run home run by redshirt senior outfielder Angie Rizzi, making it a 4-1 Wolfpack lead and blowing the game wide open. An RBI single by redshirt freshman infielder Sam Gress scored Morris and made it a 5-1 game for NC State.
“I think after this weekend, we’re gonna take this and we’re gonna build upon it,” Rizzi said. “I think it helps with our confidence a lot. Coach always says it doesn’t matter who’s in the other dugout; it can be A&T or it can be LSU, but I think either way it’s gonna build our confidence and get us ready for Pitt.”
The second inning turned out to be a blip on the radar for Nester, who got back into her groove in the third inning. The NC State bats didn’t wait for long in the third inning, largely because of Nester making quick work of the Aggies, forcing two flyouts and a groundout.
As soon as the Pack offense got back out there, it got back to work extending the lead. Redshirt freshman infielder Libby Whittaker hit a leadoff home run to give NC State a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the third. Sack joined in on the scoring run, adding a seventh run to score Russ, and so did Farricker, whose double scored Morris to make it 8-1 for the Pack.
Nester allowed a hit in the fourth inning, but that was her lone blemish in the frame, striking out two and forcing a popup. In four innings, she allowed just four hits and struck out six batters.
NC State continued its streak of scoring in each inning when redshirt junior catcher Madeline Curtis hit her first career home run, a solo shot to center field, to make it a 9-1 game in the bottom of the fourth.
Whittaker scored again after a passed ball, and Russ sent a bomb past the left-center field to score three NC State runners including herself, making it a 13-1 game and ending any chances for A&T to make the game competitive. Just for good measure however, Farricker added a solo homer of her own to make it a 14-1 game.
N.C. A&T had one more opportunity to put some runs on the board, this time with freshman Brooklyn Lucero on the mound in place of Nester. But the Aggies hit into a double play to end the inning and the game.
The Pack needed a performance like it had against the Aggies after losing three straight games and seven of the last nine.
“Any time you can come out when you can come out and have a day where things are running good on all cylinders, that’s definitely something that we needed,” Patrick-Swift said. “If you’re watching all the games, we’re in every single game, and it’s just a matter of one big inning. That’s just been our focus is play complete games and we get the wins.”
NC State will play Saturday afternoon for its final game of the series against the Aggies. That game will start at noon and take place at Dail Softball Stadium.
“Every time we’re on the field,” Patrick-Swift said, “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing or who’s in the other dugout. We focus on playing our style of ball and doing what we do. We did a much better job of that in the second game, and that’s how we need to play tomorrow to get the sweep.”
