Pack Softball Drops Super Regional Opener at No. 1 Oregon

Friday, May 22

Eugene, Ore. (Howe Field)

9:00 PM

NC State

38-21

No. 1/2 Oregon

50-6

NC State

Oregon

Pack Softball Drops Super Regional Opener at No. 1 Oregon

5/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

May 23, 2015

Box Score

EUGENE, Ore. - Playing in its first NCAA Super Regional, the NC State softball team was not overwhelmed by the spotlight and took an early lead on the top-ranked Oregon Ducks but eventually dropped a 6-1 decision at Howe Field Friday night.  

Oregon takes a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series and would advance to the Women's College World Series (WCWS) with a win on Saturday. State needs to beat the Ducks twice on Saturday to advance.

Game two of the series is set for 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Saturday, with game three to follow at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU (If Necessary). 

Rychcik's Review
Opening Statement...
"I thought we played pretty good," said head coach Shawn Rychcik. "We had one inning get away from us in the fourth and we had a chance to get out of it. We hit a batter and had a tough play that we couldn't come up with that resulted in three unearned runs for them.

"I'm pretty happy with how we competed on the field."

Quick Hits
- NC State struck first in the contest on a solo home run to left field by senior Renada Davis. The Tomball, Texas, native smacked the second pitch of the game over the fence for her 14th round-tripper of the year.
- Oregon plated four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Wolfpack senior pitcher Emily Weiman got a couple of popouts but a hit-by-pitch to the next batter knotted the score at one and opened the door for the Ducks.
- An error by the Wolfpack extended the inning and allowed three additional runs to score for Oregon to stretch the advantage to 4-1.
-The Ducks pushed two runs across in the bottom of the fifth after an RBI double to left center and a sacrifice fly to left field to take a 6-1 lead.

Inside the Box Score
- The Wolfpack was limited to just two hits in the contest by Oregon's starting pitcher Cheridan Hawkins, a finalist for the National Player of the Year award. Davis and sophomore Hannah Yeager each had one hit for NC State.

In the Pitcher's Circle
- Weiman started in the circle for the Pack and pitched the first 4.1 innings before giving way to sophomore Courtney Mirabella in the bottom of the fifth. Weiman gave up three earned runs and struck out three batters.
- Mirabella pitched 1.2 innings, fanned two batters and did not allow a hit.