NC State Softball won two games and lost three this past weekend in the Wolfpack Classic hosted at Dail Stadium. East Tennessee State, Penn and James Madison all traveled to Raleigh for the four-day event.
The Wolfpack entered the weekend coming off of a five-inning win against Elon on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at Dail Softball Stadium. The dominant 11-3 win was highlighted by three home runs from three different NC State athletes.
The red-and-white played its first game of the Wolfpack Classic on Thursday, Feb. 23, when the team took on the East Tennessee State Buccaneers (3-11,) a very slow game in the batter’s box. The sunny weather didn’t help either team — neither exceeded six hits, with the Wolfpack only totaling three throughout the seven innings. Freshman right-handed pitcher Rylee Wyman pitched the first four innings and recorded six strikeouts, but she still couldn’t deliver when it mattered most as the Buccaneers scored four of their five runs while she was on the mound.
The Wolfpack’s first game on Friday turned out to be its best game of the season, a dominant 15-6 win over Penn (0-5). Sophomore designated hitter Taylor Ensley was the star of the show; her two home runs kept spirits up in the Wolfpack’s dugout.
By the end of the six innings, the Wolfpack had recorded six home runs, the most of any game this season. This tally included a stunning grand slam from freshman catcher Amanda Hasler. Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Aisha Weixlmann finished the game on the mound, relieving freshman right-handed pitcher Wynne Gore after three innings.
The Wolfpack kept the momentum up in the second game of the weekend, an 8-2 win in a rematch with ETSU. The Buccaneers couldn’t handle freshman right-handed pitcher Madison Inscoe throughout the seven innings as she finished the game with seven strikeouts. Inscoe also scored a run this game, while Ensley, Hasler and freshman right fielder Ellie Goins each hit a home run.
The last two days of the Wolfpack Classic saw NC State take on the James Madison Dukes (8-3). The first game of this matchup took place on a rainy Saturday afternoon and saw the game time pushed back three hours. Once the first pitch was thrown, the Dukes took off in the batter’s box with a two-run home run to open the first inning. The Wolfpack couldn’t keep up, only scoring one run courtesy of sophomore third baseman Hannah Goodwin.
Sunday’s game against JMU was by far the most competitive — and stressful — of the weekend for the Wolfpack, and it ended with less-than-favorable results. Once again, the Dukes came into the batter’s box with a fire lit under them, scoring four runs in just the first inning alone. The next few innings saw runs go back and forth between the two teams, but the seventh inning proved that NC State could play well in stressful situations.
In the Pack’s last chance to push the game to extra innings, Goins hit a clutch home run to send in two runs and tie up the match. Unfortunately, the Wolfpack couldn’t close it out as the Dukes took home a 14-11 win.
The next Wolfpack series starts on Friday, March 3 at 6 p.m. when the team heads to Blacksburg, Virginia to start ACC play against the Virginia Tech Hokies.
