NC State
11-16, 0
Virginia
10-16, 0
Pack Run-Rules Cavaliers 9-1 For Series Sweep
3/19/2017 2:38:00 PM | Softball
RALEIGH - A five-run third inning, highlighted by two home runs, propelled NC State's softball team to a 9-1 run-rule win over Virginia on Sunday afternoon for a series sweep at Dail Stadium.
The Wolfpack improves to 11-16 (5-1 ACC) on the season while the Cavaliers fall to 10-16 (2-7 ACC). This marks the first series sweep for the Pack at home since March 7-8, 2015, when it hosted Notre Dame. It also marks the best start for NC State in conference play since 2014 when it swept Virginia and Pittsburgh in back-to-back weekends.Â
Rychcik's Review
On sweeping the series vs. Virginia
"It was a great game from all aspects. In the big picture of things the goal is always to win the series, so to come out and get the sweep really builds our confidence. The girls took it one game at a time and they did a great job staying focused every inning, which allowed us to put this game away early."
What it means to get the sweep at this point in the season
"It's good, it's the first sweep we've had at home in a couple of years. We started out really slow, we're really young and started out with a tough schedule. We took some lumps and struggled a bit with confidence and the ability to rebound from tough innings. There was a point in the season where we would have hoped to get one win out of this weekend, but were able to put ourselves in a position to win the series and possibly get a sweep. I'm proud of where we're at as a team and how we've grown. We still have a long ways to go but I can see the confidence and maturity that we didn't have earlier in the year.
On being 5-1 in the ACC after a tough start to the season
"There's a lot of resiliency on this team. We spent a lot of time on team building and chemistry in the off season. It was a goal of ours to have a good bond and trust in each other, and the tough schedule we were put through gave us a challenge early on. Now that we're 27 games into the season, we're together when we have adversity and are starting to have an identity of who we are."
Game Rewind
-The Pack jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Molly Hutchison and Alyssa Compton hit RBI singles to score runners from second base, and Hutchison scored on a sacrifice fly by Haley Finn to center field.
-Virginia scored its lone run in the second inning. Ashley Davis singled to the shortstop to allow Madison Labshere to score after reaching third base on back-to-back errors.
-NC State added five more runs in the third on Cheyenne Balzer's two-run homer and Tyler Ross's three-run bomb to center field. Ross now leads the team with five, while Balzer belted her second of the year.
-The Cavaliers threatened in the top of the fifth inning with runners on second and third with two outs, but a ground out to second base kept them at bay.
-In the bottom frame Jade Caraway ended the game on an RBI single up the middle. Macauley Prickett started the scoring play with a single to second base, and Ross followed with a four-pitch walk.
-Silverman pitched her 11th complete game of the season, not giving up an earned run in the contest. She now holds a 7-8 record in the circle.
-Compton and Ross led the team at the plate with three hits in as many appearances. As a team, NC State collected a season-best 16 hits in the five innings played.
On Deck
NC State will travel to RV/RV USC-Upstate Wednesday for a doubleheader. First pitch for game one is at 4 p.m., and game two is set for a 6 p.m. start at Cyrill Softball Stadium.Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Silverman, Peyton (7-8)
L: Erika Osherow (5-10)
Batting:
RBI: Ashlee Davis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Madison Labshere 1
SB: Iyana Hughes 1
Batting:
2B: Finn, Haley 1
HR: Ross, Tyler 1 ; Balzer, Cheyenne 1
RBI: Ross, Tyler 3 ; Caraway, Jade 1 ; Hutchison, Molly 1 ; Compton, Alyssa 1 ; Balzer, Cheyenne 2 ; Finn, Haley 1
SF: Finn, Haley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ross, Tyler 2 ; Caraway, Jade 1 ; Hutchison, Molly 1 ; Compton, Alyssa 1 ; Balzer, Cheyenne 1 ; Martin, Molly 1 ; Prickett, Macauley 2
