North Carolina State University Athletics
Softball Travels to California for Judi Garman Classic
3/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State will hit the road for its final major tournament before ACC play comes into full swing by traveling to Fullerton, Calif., for the Judi Garman Classic on Thursday, March 15 through Sunday, March 18. The Wolfpack will begin the tournament by competing in Pool D alongside No. 5 Arizona, No. 6 Oklahoma and Pacific. The trip marks the first time that the Wolfpack softball program has ever played in the state of California.
State will start play on Thursday by taking on Pacific at 12 p.m. (EST), before battling No. 5 Arizona at 2:15 p.m. On Friday the Pack will challenge No. 6 Oklahoma at 9:15 p.m. Game times and opponents for Saturday will be determined based upon how the Pack fares during the first two days. With enough wins, the team could compete again on Sunday.
Aside from the Pack, ACC brethren Florida State will compete at the tournament, beginning play in Pool A.
In all, the tournament field consists of 16 teams across four pools; No. 5 Arizona, No. 2 Arizona State, Cal. State Fullerton, Cal. State Northridge, No. 21 DePaul, Florida State, Fresno State, No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette, No. 7 Michigan, NC State, Notre Dame, No. 6 Oklahoma, Pacific, Penn State, No. 8 Texas and No. 13 Washington. The Pack posts an 8-12 combined record against all tournament squads.
The tournament will mark the first time that NC State has ever stepped on the diamond with Oklahoma. The Pack is 1-0 all-time against Pacific, having won an eight inning affair (6-4) on Feb. 17, 2006 at the Worth Wildcat Invitational. State has dropped both of its games to Arizona, losing 12-3 on March 13, 2005 at the Eller Media Stadium Classic, and 6-0 on Feb. 18, 2006 at the Worth Wildcat Invitational.
Last week State went 4-2 at the USF adidas Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., grabbing wins over Villanova (7-0), Mercer (1-0), Long Island (4-0) and Michigan State (6-1).
Following the Judi Garman Classic, the Pack will hit the road for an ACC series against league foe Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. State and the Yellow Jackets will kick off the series next Saturday, March 24 with games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., before wrapping up play on Sunday, March 25 at 12 p.m.
