NC State
13-25, 7-4
Georgia Tech
12-26, 5-9
Hutchison Blasts Three Home Runs, Lifts Softball Past Georgia Tech To Even Series
4/8/2017 4:32:00 PM | Softball
ATLANTA - Led by Molly Hutchison's school record three home runs and seven runs batted in, the NC State softball team evened its series at Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon with a 12-11 victory at Mewborn Field.
With a 7-2 deficit after the first inning, the Wolfpack battled back to even the contest in the fifth and a solo home run by Hutchison in the seventh sealed the win.
The Pack improves to 13-25 (7-4 ACC) and the Yellow Jackets fall to 12-26 (5-9 ACC) on the season.
Rychcik's Review
Thoughts on how the team battled back from the first inning for the win
"I'm proud of how the kids battled after we were down 7-2 in the first inning," said head coach Shawn Rychcik. "To come back and go back and forth with them the last half of the game was great. We got some big hits, made some big plays and went through our entire pitching staff. Peyton came in and threw three innings after giving up a heartbreaker last night and got nine outs for us. We gave her the lead and she closed it out in the seventh to get the win. There was a lot of heart and character out there today and it was a good team win."
On Molly Hutchison's record-breaking day
"She had a big day. We talked about a couple of things that were going on in her swing and gave her a little pep talk before the game. She's been here for four years and we have a good relationship on how she hits and what she does. She really made some adjustments and had a monster day. We needed all four hits and seven RBIs to get the win, but anytime you've broken school and NCAA records you've had a good day. Most of all we're just all happy to get the win but it was a good individual day for her."
Quoting The Players
Molly Hutchison on her record-breaking day
"I've been struggling at the plate a little bit lately, and Coach Rychcik came up to me and told me I just needed to have quality at-bats and stay smooth so that's what I focused on when I got up there," said Hutchison. "I made sure that I stayed smooth, watched the ball all the way and got a quality at-bat, and I just happened to hit it out a couple of times."
Hutchison on team confidence after win
"It's huge. It builds us a little bit of momentum so we'll have some confidence going into tomorrow. Hitting the ball hard gets everyone excited, and we had a lot of hits today which helped us out a lot. We didn't give up either after being down 7-2 early, and I think the best part of the day was our fight throughout the whole game."
Game Rewind
-Hutchison belted her first home run of the game in the first inning, a two-run bomb to center field to give the Pack an early 2-0 lead. Jade Caraway tallied the first hit of the game with a double to right center.
-The Jackets quickly knotted the game in the bottom frame with an RBI double down the left field line and walk on loaded bases.
-GT took a 3-2 advantage in the first as Malea Bell scored on a wild pitch. Karissa Arnold drove in three more runs on a double to left center, extending the lead to 6-2. Arnold managed to tack on another run in the frame, scoring from third base on a Wolfpack error.
-The Pack trimmed the score to 7-5 in the second inning, as Caraway, Hutchison and Alyssa Compton all drew walks with the bases loaded.
-Jessica Kowalewicz plated another run in the bottom of the inning, scoring from third on Bell's single to left field after leading off with a double to left center.
-A three-run bomb in the third inning by Colleen Darragh extended GT's lead to 11-5. Back-to-back singles to the right part of the outfield put runners on base to start the side.
-Hutchison belted her second home run of the game in the fourth as she went deep to right center, adding three more runs to the board. Ross drew a one-out walk and Caraway doubled to left center to put runners on second and third.
-Haley Finn and Cheyenne Balzer added two more runs in the frame, cutting the deficit to 11-10. Finn singled to second base to score Compton from third and Balzer scored from third on a wild pitch.
-In the fifth inning Caraway scored from third on a single by Compton up the middle to tie the game. She and Hutchison hit back-to-back singles on one out, and a double steal started the threat.
-The teams were kept scoreless for the next three half innings. In the top of the seventh Hutchison went deep to center field for her third home run of the day, giving NC State the game winning run.
-Tech tried to rally in the bottom of the frame, leaving a runner on third. Draven Sonnon hit a one-out single to left field and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kaylee Ellebracht.
Inside The Box Score
-Hutchison led the team at the plate with a perfect 4-for-4 performance. Her three home runs in the contest mark a career high and break the school record for the most in a single game. She also broke the program record for most runs batted in in a game with a career-best seven.
-Hutchison's three home runs in a game additionally ties for second in the NCAA with eight other players.
-All three members of the Pack's pitching staff made appearances. Harli Hubbard earned the start in the circle, Brittany Nimmo relieved her two-thirds into the first inning and Peyton Silverman pitched the last three innings to earn the win.
-Caraway boasted two doubles in her 3-for-4 performance, scoring three runs in the contest.
On Deck
NC State will face the Yellow Jackets Sunday in the rubber match. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. at Mewborn Field and will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Silverman, Peyton (9-14)
L: Barfield, B (4-9)
Batting:
2B: Caraway, Jade 2
HR: Hutchison, Molly 3
RBI: Caraway, Jade 1 ; Hutchison, Molly 7 ; Compton, Alyssa 2 ; Finn, Haley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ross, Tyler 2 ; Caraway, Jade 3 ; Hutchison, Molly 3 ; Compton, Alyssa 1 ; Balzer, Cheyenne 1 ; Moore, Jessica 1 ; Prickett, Macauley 1
SB: Caraway, Jade 1 ; Hutchison, Molly 1
Batting:
2B: Kowalewicz 2 ; Arnold, K 1
HR: Darragh, C 1
RBI: Kowalewicz 1 ; Bell, M 1 ; Ellebracht 1 ; Darragh, C 3 ; Arnold, K 3
SH: Ellebracht 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pierannunzi 1 ; Kowalewicz 1 ; Chisholm, K 1 ; Bell, M 1 ; Krzus, K 1 ; Sonnon, D 1 ; Ellebracht 2 ; Darragh, C 2 ; Arnold, K 1
SB: Ellebracht 1
HBP: Bell, M 1
