North Carolina State University Athletics
Softball Travels to Coastal Carolina and Virginia This Week
4/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 20, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -
Away v. Coastal Carolina * 4/6 p.m. ~ Away v. Virginia * Noon/2 p.m.
Face Coastal Carolina and Virginia this week ... Both are double headers.
NC State will complete its non-conference portion of the schedule with a two-game series at Coastal Carolina on Wednesday. The Chanticleers are 19-23 entering the first game, which begins at 4 p.m. The Pack will then travel north to Charlottesville, Va., to face the 30-23 Cavaliers on Saturday, beginning at noon. NC State split the first two meetings with Virginia in the Hoo's Who Classic.
On Deck
NC State has just two ACC series remaining after its trip to Coastal Carolina. The Pack will travel to Virginia on April 24 and to No. 2 Florida State on May 1. The ACC Tournament will take place at Florida State May 14-16.
Last At-Bat
Vs. UNC Wilmington: NC State defeated visiting UNC Wilmington on Thursday, April 15, 6-1. The Wolfpack improved to 30-19 overall, while the Seahawks dropped to 17-29. NC State's freshman first baseman Allison Cuculich hit her third home run of the season and freshman pitcher Shaina Ervin earned her eighth win. Ervin pitched four innings and during that time struckout two batters, allowed one run off four hits and walked three after 13 faced. Sims entered to pitch the final three innings and finished with six strikeouts, one hit, three walks in nine batters faced. Vs.Georgia Tech: NC State softball earned 2-0 upset over No. 22 Georgia Tech on Saturday, April 17. The Wolfpack had lost the first game 2-0, but remained even in Atlantic Coast Conference action with a 3-3 record, leading to a 31-20 overall docket. Wolfpack freshman shortstop Rene? LaCroix tallied her second homerun of the season, leading to the Pack's 2-0 winning score in game two.
A Glance at The Opposition
Coastal Carolina: The Chanticleers are 19-23 on the season and recently split a double header with Radford. Coastal picked a 6-4 game two victory after falling 5-2 in game one. Delane Oscarson leads the team with 50 hits, including 6 doubles, two triples and a home run. Pitcher Brittany Nelson leads the team with a 9-10 record in the circle. She has a 2.78 ERA in 120 innings. Danyelle Gerdts is 6-10 with a slightly better ERA at 2.43 in 115 innings. Virginia: The Cavs, 30-23, recently split with Florida State, after falling 1-0 in game one and winning 5-4 in game two. UVa will take on Liberty and James Madison prior to hosting NC State on Saturday. The Cavaliers will be led by Elea Crocket, who has a team-best batting average of .367, which includes 44 hits in 120 at bats. Sara Larquier leads the team in hits with 56. In the circle for Virginia will be Joanna Barstad who is 10-8 with a 1.87 ERA in 130.2 innings. Erin Horn owns a 13-8 record with a 2.71 ERA n 126.2 innings.
Some History With UVA
NC State and Virginia met twice earlier this season in UVa's annual Hoo's Who Tournament, which was the Wolfpack's first tournament crown. The Cavs took the first game with a 5-4 results, while NC State won in 10 innings, 3-2. For the Pack, Abbie Sims had three hits and two RBI in game one and added two more hits in game two. Sims pitched all 10 innings of game two. She allowed two runs off 10 hits, had five walks and eight strikeouts in 41 batters faced.
Heading For Home
Freshman Jennifer Chamberlin has hit 11 balls over the fence this season, which ties for the ACC lead in home runs. In her 50 games and 151 at bats, Chamberlin has tallied 47 hits, including 11 home runs and six doubles. Her home run total leads the ACC. She is ranked 10th in hits. The slugger's total base count of 86 ranks fifth among ACC's leaders and slugging percentage of .570 is fifth as well.
Sims Goes National
Freshman pitcher Abbie Sims is currently ranked 21st in the nation for strikeots per inning (9.25). Her average is third in the ACC, but is the youngest player among the top three.
"Hitting" By Gelbard
Heather Gelbard leads the Wolfpack with 56 hits after 49 games. Of her 56 hits, she has roped a team-high 10 doubles and two home runs. Her hits total is good for fourth in the ACC. She leads the team in at bats as well with 173 and has a 35.4 on base percentage.
A Plate Full
Four players have been extraordinarily successful at the plate this season. Miranda Ervin recently ended a 10-game hitting streak at North Carolina, but jumped back on the wagon against Maryland. Gelbard joined Ervin with a 10-game hitting streak of her own only to break it against Georgia Tech in game one. The leadoff batter rekindled her streak after earning a hit in game two of the Tech series. Jennifer Chamberlin and Abbie Sims have also enjoyed long hitting streaks. Both maxed out at eight.
Take a Look At Us Now
NC State's freshmen pitching duo of Abbie Sims and Shaina Ervin is establishing itself as one of the best in the ACC. The two combine for 29 of the Pack's 31 wins. Sims leads with 20 of those victories. The tandem have combined to pitch 328 innings. The mere fact that they are both freshmen has been astonishing as they both have become a dominant force in the circle. Sims is the youngest hurler among the ACC's top five in wins and both are among the top five in innings pitched. Sims is the youngest player with 226 strikeouts, good for third in the ACC rankings. The other two pitchers are from Florida State and Georgia Tech, both are ranked in the nation's top 25 teams. Her 1.56 ERA is fifth in ACC.
Beyond the Standard
NC State's starting lineup consists of eight freshmen and one sophomore. That is the youngest lineup in the ACC. The team is ranked third in the ACC standings by record and was selected to finish sixth in the preseason poll.
Sister, Sister
It's not double vision. It's twins. Freshmen Miranda and Shaina Ervin are twins. Miranda will wear No. 11, while Shaina wears No. 12. Miranda catches for Shaina. In college, the duo have lived up to their prep credentials, as Miranda leads the team in putouts with 350, while Shaina leads the team in walks with 21.
Shaina recorded the school's first no hitter. She ranks in the top-10 in several categories, including strikeouts, average, and opponents batting average. She also has been consistent and clutch at the plate, leading the team in walks and is second in RBI, and she is third in home runs with four.
It's RBI Time
Shaina Ervin has 22 RBI on the season and has four games in which she has totaled three or more, including one game with four RBI. She is the only Wolfpack player to have recorded four RBI in a game. Chamberlin and freshman Allison Cuculich each lead the team with six multiple RBI games.
