The NC State softball team played sluggish for most of its game against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday at Dail Field. Despite going down in the middle innings and trailing the entire game, veteran leadership in the Pack’s lineup pulled through and willed it to a 5-3 victory.
Sophomore starting pitcher Sydney Nester got out of an early jam in the top of the first. After walking two batters and allowing a walk, Nester engineered a ground ball which junior third baseman Logan Morris turned into a double play to end the frame.
Morris again helped Nester get out of a two-baserunner jam in the top of the second by making a diving stop on a hard grounder and tagging the lead runner for the second out, leaving only a 6-3 putout to keep the game deadlocked at zero.
The Buckeyes would eventually convert their barrage of offense into a run in the top of the fourth. After following up a leadoff single with a strikeout, Nester gave up her first extra-base hit of the game, putting runners at second and third. After that a sacrifice fly and another double put Ohio State ahead, 2-0. Nester would finish out the frame with a strikeout to stop the scoring.
The Buckeyes would extend their lead to 3-0 in the top of the sixth by leading off with a solo home run. Even so, head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift believed in her team and its ability to win.
“They’re resilient,” said Patrick-Swift. “A couple-run deficit for this team is no big deal, we know that we can change the score with a couple of swings.”
And change the score it did. The Wolfpack finally struck back in the bottom half of the sixth when a bloop single into center by redshirt junior shortstop Randi Farricker prefaced a 2-run home run by senior designated player Brigette Nordberg, making the scoreline NC State 2, Ohio State 3.
Every time the Buckeyes looked to cushion their lead against the Wolfpack, Nester was there to shut the door. At the top of the seventh, the pitcher forced a groundout and then threw two consecutive strikeouts to give the Wolfpack offense one last chance to pull ahead.
“After innings one and two” Nester said, “I kind of settled in a little bit, attacked the batters a little bit, and just went after it.”
The bottom of the seventh saw junior left fielder Sam Russ start off the rally with a single that eked out of the infield. Russ then stole second before senior right fielder Tatyana Forbes joined in and picked up her third base hit of the game by beating out a swinging bunt into no-man’s land between the pitcher and catcher. Morris, who did her part in preventing the Buckeyes from scoring in the opening innings, stepped into the batter’s box.
“I was just locked in,” Morris said after the game. “Coach [Patrick-Swift] said ‘visualize your at-bat’ and that’s all I did.”
Needless to say, it worked.
Morris’ swing sent the ball over the Ohio State outfielders’ heads and scored a 3-run home run. As she made her way around the basepaths, the Wolfpack dugout emptied out onto home plate to greet their heroine. Despite the adulation, Morris was humble in victory and measured in her celebration.
“I thought during the at-bat about winning it,” Morris said. “But winning it for the team. My teammates did what they had to do all game, so I did what I had to do.”
The Wolfpack will start its doubleheader against Ohio State and finish it against the Illinois Fighting Illini tomorrow at Dail Field. First pitch will be at 12.30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively.
