North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Softball Opens Fall Practice
9/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State softball team began full-team practices for its fall schedule on Monday at the Dail Softball Stadium. The Wolfpack will play eight games during the fall season, which begins on Oct. 18.
"It was an exciting day," head coach Shawn Rychcik said in reference to the first practice. "We had four weeks of individual workouts leading up to the first practice and I think it allowed us to get in shape, get stronger and more fit. I thought we had a really good practice for the first day."
Rychcik, along with assistant coaches Courtney Oliver and Katie Grimes, have conducted individual workouts with the players for the past few weeks, before commencing full-team practice on Monday.
Five seniors departed from the 2013-14 squad and five newcomers have joined the program for the 2014-15 season, including four freshmen and one transfer to bring the team total to 18.
Renada Davis and Emily Weiman, both All-ACC selections last season, return to lead the team as seniors on the squad.
The Wolfpack begins its fall schedule on Saturday, Oct. 18 when it travels to Farmville, Va., for a doubleheader against Longwood starting at 1 p.m. State will return to Raleigh the following day to compete against Campbell, also a twin bill slated to begin at 1 p.m.
"We just want to put our defensive work in, get our fundamentals down and compete," Rychcik said in regards to the goal for the team during the fall season. "We also want to see where some of our freshmen are and how some of our upperclassmen have responded to the offseason."
Last season, NC State finished the season with a 36-18 record, including a 16-8 mark in ACC play. State advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season under Rychcik's direction and made history by becoming the first team from the state of North Carolina to win the first two games of an NCAA Regional, advancing to the final without a loss.
NC State was also the fifth team since 2005 to defeat a top-four national seed before a regional final with the Wolfpack's 5-4 win against fourth-seeded Georgia.
