North Carolina State University Athletics
Wednesday, March 28
Raleigh, N.C.
5:00 PM
NC State
23-14
8
vs
9
East Carolina
26-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
R
H
E
East Carolina
0
0
0
0
0
1
6
0
1
0
1
9
5
2
NC State
0
1
3
0
0
0
3
0
1
0
0
8
9
4
East Carolina Takes 11-Inning Marathon From Softball, 9-8
3/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
RALEIGH, N.C. – East Carolina scored six runs in the top of the seventh, later picking up the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th, to down No. 24 NC State, 9-8, in the second of two games on Wednesday, March 28 at the Walnut Creek Softball Complex. With the loss, the Wolfpack moves to 23-14 (3-3 ACC) on the year, while the Pirates climb to 26-11. Abbie Sims (14-5) took the loss despite not allowing any earned runs. Keli Harrell (15-6) grabbed the win.
Shanna Smith drew first blood for the Pack with a solo shot down the right field line in the bottom of the second.
East Carolina threatened in the top of the third, but starting pitcher Shaina Ervin tossed her way out of the jam. Jessica Potter singled through the left side and moved to second on Charina Sumner ground out. Another ground out by Christina Merrida sent Potter to third, and Erin St. Ledger walked to put runners on the corners with two outs, but Ervin got Jessica Johnson swinging to end the inning.
Jen Chamberlin mailed a two-run shot over the fence in right-center in the bottom of the fourth, putting the Pack up 3-0. The 44th blast of her career, Chamberlin is now just two home runs shy of tying the all-time ACC record.
Two at-bats later, Allison Presnell reached and advanced to second on an error by St. Ledger at second. Smith then doubled to right, bringing in Presnell.
Head coach Lisa Navas made some changes to the Pack’s lineup going into the top of the fourth, removing Heather Gelbard and putting Lisa Nentwig in the one-hole at first base. Presnell went from first to right field, and Abbie Sims took up designated player spot.
Keli Harrell took over in the circle for the Pirates to start the bottom of the fourth, and retired the side in order.
St. Ledger hit her second home run of the day, a solo bomb to straightaway center, to give the Pirates its first run of the game in the top of the sixth.
ECU took the lead in the top of the seventh with six runs on two hits. Johnson singled and Joyce Roodeburg reached on an error by Chamberlin at third with two outs and the bases loaded to tie the ball game. Vanessa Moreno followed with a three-run shot down the right field line, her first dinger of the season, to give ECU a 7-4 advantage.
But the Pack rallied and tied things up with its back against the wall in the bottom of the seventh. Gelbard singled up the middle with one out and Krystal Hawkins came on to run in her spot. Blair Harkey then moved Hawkins to second with an infield single. Chamberlin followed with a single up the middle, scoring Hawkins and moving Harkey to third. Beth Poore then ran for Chamberlin at first. Sims sent another base hit up the middle, scoring Harkey and moving Poore to second. Presnell followed with the third-consecutive single up the middle, scoring Poore to tie the game and force extra innings.
Sims took over in the circle for the Pack in the top of the eighth and retired the side in order, grabbing two k’s.
Both teams scored a run a piece in the ninth inning. Sumner scored for ECU on a passed ball with two outs. Harkey moved Laura Klem to third with a sac-bunt to start the bottom of the ninth, and Chamberlin followed by fouling out behind the plate. Klem then scored on a wild pitch, knotting the score at 8-8.
Smith bobbled a grounder with two outs in the top of the 11th, allowing ECU to score what would turn out to be the game winning run.
The game marked the first time that the Pack had ever gone beyond 10 innings.
NC State will return to the road this coming weekend for another ACC showdown at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. The two teams will collide at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, before wrapping up play on Sunday, April 1, at 1 p.m.
Shanna Smith drew first blood for the Pack with a solo shot down the right field line in the bottom of the second.
East Carolina threatened in the top of the third, but starting pitcher Shaina Ervin tossed her way out of the jam. Jessica Potter singled through the left side and moved to second on Charina Sumner ground out. Another ground out by Christina Merrida sent Potter to third, and Erin St. Ledger walked to put runners on the corners with two outs, but Ervin got Jessica Johnson swinging to end the inning.
Jen Chamberlin mailed a two-run shot over the fence in right-center in the bottom of the fourth, putting the Pack up 3-0. The 44th blast of her career, Chamberlin is now just two home runs shy of tying the all-time ACC record.
Two at-bats later, Allison Presnell reached and advanced to second on an error by St. Ledger at second. Smith then doubled to right, bringing in Presnell.
Head coach Lisa Navas made some changes to the Pack’s lineup going into the top of the fourth, removing Heather Gelbard and putting Lisa Nentwig in the one-hole at first base. Presnell went from first to right field, and Abbie Sims took up designated player spot.
Keli Harrell took over in the circle for the Pirates to start the bottom of the fourth, and retired the side in order.
St. Ledger hit her second home run of the day, a solo bomb to straightaway center, to give the Pirates its first run of the game in the top of the sixth.
ECU took the lead in the top of the seventh with six runs on two hits. Johnson singled and Joyce Roodeburg reached on an error by Chamberlin at third with two outs and the bases loaded to tie the ball game. Vanessa Moreno followed with a three-run shot down the right field line, her first dinger of the season, to give ECU a 7-4 advantage.
But the Pack rallied and tied things up with its back against the wall in the bottom of the seventh. Gelbard singled up the middle with one out and Krystal Hawkins came on to run in her spot. Blair Harkey then moved Hawkins to second with an infield single. Chamberlin followed with a single up the middle, scoring Hawkins and moving Harkey to third. Beth Poore then ran for Chamberlin at first. Sims sent another base hit up the middle, scoring Harkey and moving Poore to second. Presnell followed with the third-consecutive single up the middle, scoring Poore to tie the game and force extra innings.
Sims took over in the circle for the Pack in the top of the eighth and retired the side in order, grabbing two k’s.
Both teams scored a run a piece in the ninth inning. Sumner scored for ECU on a passed ball with two outs. Harkey moved Laura Klem to third with a sac-bunt to start the bottom of the ninth, and Chamberlin followed by fouling out behind the plate. Klem then scored on a wild pitch, knotting the score at 8-8.
Smith bobbled a grounder with two outs in the top of the 11th, allowing ECU to score what would turn out to be the game winning run.
The game marked the first time that the Pack had ever gone beyond 10 innings.
NC State will return to the road this coming weekend for another ACC showdown at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. The two teams will collide at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, before wrapping up play on Sunday, April 1, at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: HARRELL, Keli (15-6)
L: Sims, Abbie (14-5)
Batting:
HR: ST. LEDGER, Erin 1 ; MORENO, Vanessa 1
RBI: ST. LEDGER, Erin 2 ; JOHNSON, Jessica 1 ; Roodenburg, Joyce 2 ; MORENO, Vanessa 3
SH: MORENO, Vanessa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: AONA, Cristen 1 ; ST. LEDGER, Erin 2 ; JOHNSON, Jessica 1 ; Roodenburg, Joyce 1 ; MORENO, Vanessa 1 ; BAGGETT, Paige 1 ; BARRELLA, Angel 1 ; SUMNER, Charina 1
SB: AONA, Cristen 1 ; ST. LEDGER, Erin 1
CS: SUMNER, Charina 1
HBP: POTTER, Jessica 1
Batting:
2B: Smith, Shanna 1
HR: Chamberlin, Jennifer 1 ; Smith, Shanna 1
RBI: Chamberlin, Jennifer 3 ; Sims, Abbie 1 ; Presnell, Allison 1 ; Smith, Shanna 2
SH: Harkey, Blair 2 ; Smith, Shanna 1 ; Dalthorp, Megan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hawkins, Krystal 1 ; Harkey, Blair 2 ; Chamberlin, Jennifer 1 ; Poore, Beth 1 ; Presnell, Allison 1 ; Smith, Shanna 1 ; Klem, Laura 1
SB: Patterson, Jennifer 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball3B/DP
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball2B
/ Softball1B/SS
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball1B/OF
/ SoftballP/OF
/ SoftballSS
/ Softball#BehindThe20 with former Pack Stars Abbie Sims and Renada Davis
Wednesday, April 24
Softball: Players Presser (2/15)
Thursday, February 15
Softball: Coach Leftwich Presser (2/15)
Thursday, February 15
EmpowHER with Aisha Weixlmann #Shorts #NCState #GoPack
Monday, October 16