As severe thunderstorms lurched toward Raleigh from the western part of the state late Thursday, N.C. State took the both games of a double header against Elon by scores of 5-0 and 8-5 at the Walnut Creek Softball Complex.

The Wolfpack (12-5) hit four home runs in the first game and had 10 hits in six innings in the second. Coach Lisa Navas said after the game she had “had better days,” but was happy with some of her younger players.

“We hit the ball well, and we had some key hits from some of the younger players, but at the end it looked like we ran out of gas and made a couple of mistakes,” Navas said. “We need to be sharper than that.”

Senior Shaina Ervin (5-2) pitched the second game for State and allowed seven hits and five runs to 32 batters faced over seven innings. She was upset with her performance after the game, saying her pitches weren’t moving the way she wanted them to.

“This wasn’t a great game for me. We won only because of the great offense,” Ervin said. “We won because it was a total team effort.”

Senior Jen Chamberlin hit her 40th career home run in the first contest. She said after the game she wasn’t concerned with hitting home runs, so much as hitting the ball harder.

“That one felt good. The last two have felt good. That’s what I’m focusing on,” Chamberlin said. “I want to hit it hard. You know, I can hit it 200 feet without hitting it hard. I want to hit it hard.”

Senior Miranda Ervin played catcher in the first game, but fellow senior Jennifer Patterson caught the second. Navas said she was pleased with the play of both players.

“Both of them are doing a spectacular job,” Navas said. “I look at who is pitching, what kind of speed the other team has, but nothing really in particular. They are both playing exceptionally well right now.”

State will host Florida State (11-5) for a three-game series this weekend at Walnut Creek. Navas said her team needs some work before its first ACC series this year.

“We’ve got to get a lot better in a short period of time. They’ve got a great ball club. They are very quick, and they’re hitting the ball really well. We’ve really got to sharpen up, but I think if we come out here with a lot of guts, we’ll be OK.”

Shaina said, despite what she felt was a poor performance Thursday, that this weekend’s series will be different.

“This wasn’t a great game for our team,” Shaina said. “But we’re ready to play Florida State, and things will be different on Saturday.”