The NC State softball team will host Notre Dame this upcoming weekend. The Wolfpack will play a doubleheader on Saturday and one game on Sunday against the Fighting Irish.
The Pack (14-6) is looking to keep up its recent good play. The Wolfpack won three of its four games in the NC State Invitational at Dail Softball Stadium this past weekend. The Wolfpack’s bats stayed hot this past weekend as it scored 12, nine and 12 runs in its three victories this weekend. Its offense has been led by senior Tatyana Forbes. Forbes is hitting an impressive .538 this season, which is tied for eighth in the nation.
Redshirt junior Randi Farricker and junior Sam Russ also have been important in the Wolfpack lineup. Farricker is second on the team in average at .377 and gets on base at a rate of .468, while Russ has a .368 batting average with two home runs and eight RBIs.
The Wolfpack will be led by sophomore Sydney Nester and senior Devin Wallace in the circle. Nester has gotten the bulk of the workload and has solid results with a 3.68 ERA in 72.1 IP with 76 strikeouts. It will be interesting to see if freshman Sam Gress will be ready to go as she has has been impressive in her small sample of work. Gress has a 0.48 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 14.2 IP.
The Fighting Irish (12-6) are coming off a solid stretch of winning six of their last nine games. Their lineup is anchored by Abby Sweet and Katie Marino. Sweet is hitting .393 this season with two home runs and 20 RBIs, while Marino is hitting .352 with five home runs and 14 RBIs.
Notre Dame’s pitching has been even more impressive. Their staff is led by ace Alexis Holloway, who has an impressive 0.61 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 68.2 IP. Notre Dame’s pitching staff has a combined 1.46 ERA, which is good for eighth in the nation in team ERA.
First pitch on Saturday is scheduled at 1 p.m. with the second leg of the doubleheader tentatively scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The final game of the three-game series is scheduled to begin at noon on Sunday.
