NC State Softball Powers Past North Carolina, 7-2

Wednesday, March 16

Chapel Hill, N.C. (Anderson Stadium)

6 P.M.

NC State

13-11

North Carolina

13-12

NC State

North Carolina

Photo by: Greg Mintel

NC State Softball Powers Past North Carolina, 7-2

3/16/2016 9:33:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Wolfpack hits at least one homer for eighth consecutive game

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The NC State softball team hit three home runs to earn a 7-2 victory against rival North Carolina Wednesday evening at Anderson Stadium. The teams were meeting in a nonconference contest for the first time in program history.

The Wolfpack moves to 13-11 on the season, while the Tar Heels fall to 13-12.

Rychcik's Review
Opening statement…
"I'm really happy with how we came out and played today," said head coach Shawn Rychcik. "We got some big hits and played solid defense. I'm real pleased with how got up on them, then they answered and then we answered right back.

"We continued to put runs on the board and had 12 hits, so I'm real pleased with the effort and it's always nice to get the win against a rival."

Quick Hits
- NC State struck first in the contest after Hannah Yeager's first home run of the season, a two-run blast to left field.
- Meredith Burroughs drew a walk prior to Yeager's at-bat and scored, as the sophomore drove a 1-2 pitch over the outfield wall.
- North Carolina knotted the score at two in the bottom of the inning, after a pair of solo home runs from Kendra Lynch and Taylor Wike.
- Junior Molly Hutchison helped the Wolfpack regain the lead, 4-2, in the top of the third with her fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot to right center scoring Tyler Ross, who singled earlier in the frame.
- NC State extended its lead to 7-2 in the fourth thanks to a three-run homer by Maggie Hawkins. The senior smacked the second pitch of her at-bat to deep center field for her seventh round-tripper of the year, scoring Tyler Ross and Hutchison.

Game Notes
- NC State hit at least one home run in the contest for the eighth consecutive game.
- Wolfpack batters have homered in 20 of the squad's 24 games this season.
- Hawkins and Hutchison each extended their hitting streaks to 10 games in the contest, as both hit a home run.

Inside the Box Score
- Hutchison led the Wolfpack at the plate with a 2-for-4 performance, highlighted by two runs batted in (RBI) and two runs scored.
- Sommer was also 2-for-4 with a double and a single, while Yeager was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
- Six different players had at least one hit in a 12-hit outing for the Wolfpack.

In the Pitcher's Circle
- Courtney Mirabella threw her eighth complete game of the season to earn the win in the circle to push her record to 9-4.
- She allowed seven hits, two earned runs and struck out three.
- After giving up a pair of solo home runs in the second inning, Mirabella rebounded to retire 10 consecutive batters. UNC was retired in order in the third, fourth and fifth innings.

On Deck
NC State returns to action Friday afternoon when it hosts Ohio in the DoubleTree RDU Invite at Dail Stadium. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.