Wolfpack Softball Completes Series Sweep of No. 23 Notre Dame

Sunday, March 8

Raleigh, N.C.

12:00 PM

NC State

10-7, 0

No. 23/22 Notre Dame

12-9, 0

Notre Dame

NC State

Wolfpack Softball Completes Series Sweep of No. 23 Notre Dame

3/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

March 8, 2015

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State softball team put the finishing touches on a three-game sweep of No. 23 Notre Dame with an 8-3 win on Sunday afternoon at Dail Stadium. It was the first time in program history that the Wolfpack has swept a three-game series against a ranked conference opponent.

In 2013, the Pack won both games of a doubleheader against No. 19 Virginia Tech, but the series finale was canceled due to inclement weather. That marked the first time in school history that State swept a doubleheader against a ranked conference opponent, also under third-year head coach Shawn Rychcik's direction.

NC State improves to 10-7 on the season and moves to 3-0 in ACC play, while Notre Dame falls to 12-9 and 0-3 in league action.

Rychcik's Review
"Another really good performance by our team today," said Rychcik. "Renada [Davis] really got us going in the first with a home run on the first pitch from Notre Dame's pitcher and that was huge for us to feed off. It was a good defensive day as well, so it was a really good all-around day and that's three days of it, so I'm really proud of this team."

On the offense and pitching during the series...
"We were really prepared for this weekend and I have to give a lot of credit to my two assistants - Courtney Oliver and Katie Grimes. We had a good game plan of what to do with their hitters and from a hitting standpoint we had great approaches at the plate, so an awesome job my Courtney and Katie."

Quick Hits

- The Wolfpack got on the scoreboard first in the contest thanks to a solo home run to right center by leadoff hitter senior Renada Davis. The Tomball, Texas, native crushed the first pitch she saw from Notre Dame starting pitcher Rachel Nasland, as the Pack took a 1-0 lead.
- NC State added three runs in the third inning on the second round-tripper of the game, as sophomore Tyler Ross got all of Nasland's 2-2 delivery. Davis walked and Hutchison singled prior to Ross' blast to score on the play and extend the advantage to 4-0.
- Notre Dame's first hit of the contest came in the fourth inning when Katey Haus hit a solo homer to left field to trim the Wolfpack lead to 4-1. The Irish threatened in the first inning putting runners at the corners, but the Wolfpack escaped the jam with a grounder to the shortstop.
- State answered in the bottom of the fourth with a run after three consecutive hits. Sophomore Hannah Yeager singled down the left field line, senior Morgan Tharrington doubled off the left field fence narrowly missing a home run, before freshman Alyssa Compton singled up the middle to plate Yeager.
- A pair of solo homers in the fifth helped the Wolfpack extend its lead to 7-1, as Ross went yard for the second time in the contest and freshman Meredith Burroughs homered two batters later. It was Ross' first career multi-homer game.
- The Irish plated a run in the sixth following an RBI-double from Cassidy Whidden.
- Davis helped the Wolfpack get that run back in the bottom of the frame with her second home run of the game to make in 8-2 in favor of the Pack.
- Notre Dame scored another run in the seventh, as the Pack elected to get the out at first base on a grounder instead of trying to get the runner at the plate.

In the Pitcher's Circle
- Senior Emily Weiman (6-5) threw a complete game to earn the win and had a no-hitter through the first three innings. She struck out six batters, walked three and allowed three earned runs.
- For Notre Dame, Nasland allowed nine hits, eight earned runs, walked three and struck out nine batters.

Oliver's Take
"We had a great game plan for Notre Dame's hitters and we had been working on it in practice," said assistant and pitching coach Courtney Oliver. "I think the big thing was that we were prepared and we hit our spots with pitches to get them to swing at the pitches we wanted them to."

Inside the Box Score
- Ross paced the Wolfpack at the plate with a 3-for-4 outing, highlighted by a pair of homers and a game-high four RBI. Davis was 2-for-2, also with two round-trippers and was walked in her other two plate appearances.
- Burroughs, Compton, junior Maggie Hawkins, sophomore Molly Hutchison, Tharrington and Yeager each had one hit in an 11 hit showing for NC State.

Game Notes
- The series sweep marked the second consecutive year that the Wolfpack has opened ACC play with a sweep. Last year State won three games against Virginia to open its conference slate.
- Davis recorded her first multi-homer game of 2015 and the ninth of her career. It was Ross' first career multi-homer game.
- The five home runs was a season high and marked the eighth consecutive game for the squad with at least one round-tripper.

Weekend Notes
- For the series, NC State pitching limited Notre Dame to just five earned runs over the course of three game. The Irish entered the weekend batting .307 as a team and averaging 5.28 runs per game.
- The Wolfpack hit .291 as a team and the Irish hit .205. Of the 16 hits Notre Dame had on the weekend, only five were for extra bases. In contrast, 11 of the Pack's 23 hits were for extra bases, highlighted by a total of nine home runs in the series.

On Deck
The Wolfpack returns to action on Wednesday, when it makes the short trip to Buies Creek, N.C., for a doubleheader with Campbell. First pitch of game one is slated for 4 p.m. with the second game to follow.

#STATEment