The NC State softball season is scheduled to start this Saturday, Feb. 13, with a home series against Longwood. The Wolfpack, who had the majority of its season canceled last season due to COVID-19, is set to have a full season with nonconference games and ACC games.
Last season, before it was canceled, NC State was off to a 19-6 start. That being said, this is a team that is hungry to get back out on the diamond and build off the momentum that was created a year ago.
February
The Wolfpack is set for a busy month in February, starting and ending the month with some nonconference series and a six-game Wednesday-to-Saturday stretch of ACC play in the middle of the month.
Starting off with Longwood, the Wolfpack will be able to use the series with the Lancers as a tuneup as the Big South school was narrowly below .500 last season when play was stopped.
ACC play will start the next week when the Wolfpack hosts Boston College and Louisville over four days and plays a total of five games. Both of these schools were on the lower tier of the ACC a season ago at 9-12 and 10-13, respectively.
To end the month, NC State will host in-state opponent Gardner-Webb for a three-game series Feb. 27-28.
March
Moving on to March, when the season was canceled in 2020. NC State has four important ACC series. Starting off March 5-7, NC State hosts Georgia Tech for four games. The next weekend, NC State hosts No. 15 Virginia Tech for four games.
The Yellow Jackets were off to a solid start in ACC play a year ago, winning their first conference series of 2020, and should provide a solid final warmup for the VT series, which will be the Pack’s first real test of the year.
The Hokies are one of three ACC teams ranked in the USA Today preseason coaches poll. Virginia Tech was 21-4 last season.
After hosting two series to begin March, the Wolfpack will travel to Virginia the weekend of March 19-21, and then to Notre Dame March 26-28 for two separate four-game ACC series. In the two ACC series the Cavaliers played a year ago, they were swept both times. Notre Dame was 13-9 before the season was canceled.
April
April is a busy month for NC State, and it begins with a four-game nonconference set with North Carolina A&T April 2-3. The two North Carolina schools did face one another last year, with NC State winning both games by a combined score of 21-2 in just 11 innings.
This is not the only nonconference series in April, as the Wolfpack will welcome No. 5 LSU for a three-game series April 16-17. This will be a good opportunity for NC State to go up against a team from the SEC, which is arguably the best conference in college softball.
The Tigers were 21-3 in 2020, with wins over four different ranked teams. The only losses they suffered were to then-No. 2 Washington, then-No. 13 UL-Lafayette and Loyola Marymount, their lone unranked loss of last season. This showdown with one of the SEC’s best will be a good measuring stick for the Wolfpack to see where it ranks among the country’s best.
In terms of conference series, NC State has three in April. From April 9-11, the Wolfpack will host Pittsburgh for four games. To end the month, NC State goes down south with back-to-back weekends of four-game series at Clemson April 23-25, then at No. 12 Florida State April 30-May 2.
If last season showed us anything, it’s that the games against Clemson and Florida State will be a defining stretch down the end of the season. The Tigers were 19-8 when the season ended, while the Seminoles were 17-7 and have won six straight ACC tournaments.
May
The only full weekend series NC State has in May is a home four-game set against No. 25 Duke May 7-9. The ACC Tournament is scheduled to be played May 12-15 in Louisville, Kentucky. This will be an opportunity for NC State to win its first ACC Tournament since 2013, and its third ever.
This schedule is subject to change due to COVID-19, but the season is set to start Saturday. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live coverage of Wolfpack softball all season long.
