North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Softball to Play Louisville in ACC Championship Opener
5/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
NC State Game Notes | Championship Central | Bracket | Tickets
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The NC State softball team will head to Blacksburg, Va., this week to take part in the 2015 ACC Softball Championship hosted by Virginia Tech at Tech Softball Park. The Wolfpack will be the fourth seed in the event and face fifth-seeded Louisville on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
The contest will air live on Watch ESPN/Regional Sports Networks (RSN), with no blackouts to occur on ESPN3/Watch ESPN. It will air on Fox Sports Carolinas, which are channels 50 and 318 for Time Warner Cable customers, Fox Sports San Diego on Dish Network (channel 408) and Fox Sports Carolinas channel 646 on DirecTV. 
For a complete list of television affiliates click here. 
Inside the Matchup
NC State enters the championship with a 34-19 record on the season and finished the ACC regular season with a 13-8 mark, while Louisville has an overall record of 30-16 and was 16-7 during the conference regular season.
The Wolfpack and Cardinals have met twice in the history of the programs, but never as conference opponents. The Cards have won both prior meetings, earning a 3-2 win on March 4, 2011, and a 2-0 win on Feb. 13, 2004.
Wolfpack in the ACC Championship
The Wolfpack owns an 11-13 all-time record in the ACC Championships, including an 0-1 mark in its lone game played at Tech Softball Park in the ACC Championship in 2010.
For the second year in a row, NC State will be playing in the four/five game as the Pack was the four seed last season and faced fifth seed North Carolina. The Wolfpack dropped an 8-4 decision in the contest.
Peaking At The Right Time
NC State has been playing its best softball in recent weeks and the results tell the story, as the squad is on an eight-game winning streak. During the stretch, the Wolfpack is outscoring opponents, 75-5. State has compiled a batting average of .370 in those eight games, while opponents are hitting just .114 in the last eight games.
In the circle, the Pack has an earned run average (ERA) of 0.74 during the span and opponents' have an ERA of 8.37. State limited opponents to just 18 hits in eight games, while the Wolfpack has collected 84 hits.
Ross Garners Second ACC Player of the Week Honor
Sophomore Tyler Ross was named ACC Player of the Week on Tuesday for the second time this season. She compiled a .545 batting average last week with six hits in 11 at-bats.
The Cameron, N.C., native hit three home runs and collected eight RBI. In addition, she scored six runs and tallied a slugging percentage of 1.455.
Davis On a Tear
Renada Davis, senior shortstop from Tomball, Texas, has been on a tear in recent weeks and is currently on a 10-game hitting streak. During the span, she has a batting average of .417 with 15 hits, 14 runs scored and 11 RBI. 
After seeing her program-best 32-game reached base safely streak come to a close in the series opener against UNC, Davis has had a hit in every game since to reach base in 42 of the last 43 games.
Scouting Louisville
The Louisville Cardinals will be participating in their first ACC Championship this week and NC State has the pleasure of being the first team they will face. The Cards have won six of their last eight games coming into the championship. 
Louisville won two of three games against Pitt last weekend to wrap-up the regular season slate.
Kelsi Jones and Kordan McNary lead the team at the plate, each with a batting average of .371. Maryssa Becker has a team-best 50 hits on the year and a team-leading nine home runs. As a team, the Cards have a batting average of .312 and average 5.54 runs per game. 
In the pitcher's circle, Becker paces the staff with a 14-6 record and a 2.24 earned run average (ERA). Shelby McCombs has also seen significant action to compile a 10-5 mark on the year with a 2.87 ERA. Louisville has a team ERA of 2.78 and allows 3.41 runs per game. 
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