Thursday, February 25
Cathedral City, Calif. (Big League Dreams Sports Park)
4 P.M.
NC State
vs
#17/12 Missouri
Photo by: Greg Mintel
Softball Faces Tough Challenge at Mary Nutter Classic
2/24/2016 5:25:00 PM | Softball
NC State to play four top-25 opponents this weekend
| Thursday, February 25 | ||
| Time (ET) | Game | Coverage |
| 4:00 p.m. | #17 Missouri | Live Stats |
| 11:00 p.m. | #1 Florida | Live Stats |
| Friday, February 26 | ||
| 6:30 p.m. | #25 California | Live Stats |
| Saturday, February 27 | ||
| 3:00 p.m. | Stanford | Live Stats |
| 10:30 p.m. | #2 Michigan | Live Stats |
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State softball team will face a tough challenge this weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic held at Big League Sports Complex in Palm Springs, Calif. The Wolfpack will play four teams ranked among the top 25, including two-time defending national champion Florida and runner-up Michigan.
NC State owns a 5-4 record and will be making the program's first trip to California since 2013.
The Wolfpack opens play in the event at 4 p.m. Thursday against No. 17 Missouri and returns to the field later that evening to take on top-ranked Florida at 11 p.m. Friday NC State will take on No. 25 California in its lone game of the day at 6:30 p.m. Saturday the Pack will wrap-up competition in the classic with Stanford at 3 p.m. and No. 2 Michigan at 10:30 p.m. All times are Eastern Standard.
Last Time Out
In its last outing of the season, the Wolfpack defeated Wisconsin, 6-5, to conclude play in the Inaugural ACC/Big Ten Challenge held at Dail Stadium. NC State split a pair of games with Nebraska and Wisconsin.
California Connection
Seven players on the 2016 NC State softball team hail from the state of California.
Cheyenne Balzer – Temecula, Calif. – 1 hour 21 mins away
Alyssa Compton – Irvine, Calif. – 1 hour 48 mins
Molly Hutchison – San Diego, Calif. – 2 hours 16 minsÂ
Jessica Moore – Northridge, Calif. – 2 hours 26 mins
Macauley Prickett – Petaluma, Calif. – 8 hours 1 min
Hanna Sommer – Tustin, Calif. – 1 hour 44 mins
Hannah Yeager – Los Gatos, Calif. – 7 hours 14 min
A Tale of Two Cities
NC State held a narrow 1-0 lead against the Nebraska Cornhuskers last Friday heading into the seventh inning. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, Nebraska scored six runs in the frame to win by a final score of 6-1.
In the rematch between the teams on Saturday, NC State trailed 5-3 heading into the final inning and scored eight runs in the frame to take the lead, 11-5. It was the most runs scored in the seventh inning of a game in NC State history.
Nothing in the First
In nine games this season, NC State has not allowed its opponent to score in the first inning. Similarly, the Wolfpack has only plated one run in the first frame this year, which it scored against Nebraska last Saturday.
Burroughs' Career Day
Sophomore Meredith Burroughs enjoyed her best performance in an NC State uniform last Saturday against Nebraska. The Pikeville, N.C., native recorded the first multi-home run game of her career in the Wolfpack's 11-6 win versus the Cornhuskers.
She left the yard in consecutive at-bats, hitting a two-run homer in the fifth and a three-run blast in the seventh. She finished the contest with a career high five runs batted in (RBI) and also had nine putouts defensively, without an error.
Hawkins Is Clutch Again
Maggie Hawkins proved once again over the weekend that she thrives in difficult situations. After hitting a walkoff home run to lift NC State to the 2015 NCAA Super Regionals, Hawkins stepped to the plate against Wisconsin last Sunday and ripped a double to score the go-ahead run.
With a runner on second base, the senior hit a 2-2 pitch over the left fielder's head to score junior Molly Hutchison to give NC State a 6-5 lead, which was the final score.
Sommer's On Base
Redshirt junior Hanna Sommer has reached base safely in each of the past seven games, the longest active streak this season. A very disciplined hitter at the plate, she has been walked at least one time in each of the past four games, including an intentional base on balls against Wisconsin last Sunday.
Adapting to Injuries
Due to injuries, NC State has been without the services of its starting shortstop for six of nine games this season. Senior Lana Van Dyken has done an admirable job filling in for Alyssa Compton at the position, while freshman Brittany Nimmo takes over for Van Dyken at third base.
As a result, the Wolfpack has only been able to field its opening day lineup three times in 2016.
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Players Mentioned
C/UT
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
SS/2B
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
C/OF
/ Softball
2B/SS
/ Softball
P/UT
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
3B/SS
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball#BehindThe20 with former Pack Stars Abbie Sims and Renada Davis
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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