Thursday, February 23
Cathedral City, Calif. (Big League Dreams Sports Park)
6 P.M.
NC State
vs
New Mexico State
Softball Heads To West Coast For Mary Nutter Classic
2/22/2017 10:21:00 AM | Softball
RALEIGH – The NC State softball team is set to play in its third tournament of the season, the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Feb. 23-25 in Cathedral City, Calif., at the Big League Dreams Sports Park.
With another tough tournament schedule slated for this weekend, the Wolfpack will face three teams in the top 25 or receiving votes in the latest national poll, including 2016 College World Series Champion Oklahoma.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Feb. 23 vs. New Mexico State 6 PM ET
Feb. 23 vs. No. 6/4 UCLA 11 PM ET
Feb. 24 vs. No. 4/5 Oklahoma 6 PM ET
Feb. 24 vs. RV/RV Oregon State 11 PM ET
Feb. 25 vs. Northwestern 5:30 PM ET
PREVIEWING THE WEEKEND
-NC State enters its third weekend of the season with a 2-7 record, as the Pack played two games apiece against No. 11/10 Michigan and No. 13/13 Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in its last time out.
-With three ranked teams on the schedule for the Mary Nutter Classic, this will mark six that NC State has faced this season.
-NC State has faced New Mexico, Oregon State and UCLA once in program history, and leads Oklahoma 2-1 in the all-time series. Saturday's game with Northwestern will mark the first time the teams have met.
TOP FIVE IN THE ACC
-The Pack has three players listed among the top five in conference statistics.
-Tyler Ross is listed fourth among the conference in stolen bases with four out of five attempts this season.
-Freshman pitcher Peyton Silverman has struck out 21 batters in the six appearances she has made in the circle, which is tied for sixth among the ACC.
-First baseman Cheyenne Balzer has tallied 61 putouts this year, which ranks third in the conference.
GETTING ON BASE
-NC State has three players that hold an on-base percentage higher than .400 and have recorded 10 or more total bases this year – Brittany Nimmo (.444), Molly Hutchison (.429) and Jade Caraway (.407).
-Hutchison holds a team-high of 12 bases, while Caraway has tallied 11 and Nimmo 10.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
-Five players on the team have hit at least one double this season. Hutchison holds three, Jessica Moore and Nimmo hold two apiece while Balzer and Natalie Jones each have one.
-As a team, NC State has recorded a double play in five of its nine games. In the Pack's games against Minnesota last weekend, two double plays were recorded (2b to 1b, 2b to ss).
HOMECOMING
For six of NC State's players, this weekend will be a homecoming. Balzer, Alyssa Compton, Haley Finn, Hutchison, Jessica Moore and Macauley Prickett are all California natives. Four live within 90 miles of Los Angeles, while Hutchison is from San Diego and Prickett is a Petaluma native.
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE
The Aggies will enter the matchup with NC State with a 4-4 record, after falling to Tennessee on Monday in its final game of the Troy Cox Classic. New Mexico made a postseason appearance in 2015 and won the 2016 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season title.
ABOUT OREGON STATE
Oregon State also played in the Troy Cox Classic last weekend winning three of its five games, including a 6-2 victory over New Mexico State. The Beavers are 6-2 this season and are coming off of an NCAA Regional appearance in 2016.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats (1-8) held off Tulsa in their season opener 3-2 for their only win of 2017. Northwestern traveled to the Tallahassee site for the ACC/B1G Challenge last weekend, dropping all four games to No. 3 Florida State and No. 24 Pittsburgh. Like Oregon State, Northwestern was an NCAA Tournament selection last year.
ABOUT UCLA
No. 6/5 UCLA has reached the World Series the past two years. The Bruins (10-1) have only lost one game this season, when the team split a doubleheader with No. 22 Kentucky on Feb. 15. UCLA played in the first round of the Mary Nutter Classic last weekend, defeating Cal Poly, UCF, UC Davis and Liberty.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA
Reigning World Series Champion Oklahoma will enter the tournament with a 6-2 record, coming off of four-straight wins at the Houston Classic last weekend. The Sooners are listed at No. 4/6 in the latest national polls.
With another tough tournament schedule slated for this weekend, the Wolfpack will face three teams in the top 25 or receiving votes in the latest national poll, including 2016 College World Series Champion Oklahoma.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Feb. 23 vs. New Mexico State 6 PM ET
Feb. 23 vs. No. 6/4 UCLA 11 PM ET
Feb. 24 vs. No. 4/5 Oklahoma 6 PM ET
Feb. 24 vs. RV/RV Oregon State 11 PM ET
Feb. 25 vs. Northwestern 5:30 PM ET
PREVIEWING THE WEEKEND
-NC State enters its third weekend of the season with a 2-7 record, as the Pack played two games apiece against No. 11/10 Michigan and No. 13/13 Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in its last time out.
-With three ranked teams on the schedule for the Mary Nutter Classic, this will mark six that NC State has faced this season.
-NC State has faced New Mexico, Oregon State and UCLA once in program history, and leads Oklahoma 2-1 in the all-time series. Saturday's game with Northwestern will mark the first time the teams have met.
TOP FIVE IN THE ACC
-The Pack has three players listed among the top five in conference statistics.
-Tyler Ross is listed fourth among the conference in stolen bases with four out of five attempts this season.
-Freshman pitcher Peyton Silverman has struck out 21 batters in the six appearances she has made in the circle, which is tied for sixth among the ACC.
-First baseman Cheyenne Balzer has tallied 61 putouts this year, which ranks third in the conference.
GETTING ON BASE
-NC State has three players that hold an on-base percentage higher than .400 and have recorded 10 or more total bases this year – Brittany Nimmo (.444), Molly Hutchison (.429) and Jade Caraway (.407).
-Hutchison holds a team-high of 12 bases, while Caraway has tallied 11 and Nimmo 10.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
-Five players on the team have hit at least one double this season. Hutchison holds three, Jessica Moore and Nimmo hold two apiece while Balzer and Natalie Jones each have one.
-As a team, NC State has recorded a double play in five of its nine games. In the Pack's games against Minnesota last weekend, two double plays were recorded (2b to 1b, 2b to ss).
HOMECOMING
For six of NC State's players, this weekend will be a homecoming. Balzer, Alyssa Compton, Haley Finn, Hutchison, Jessica Moore and Macauley Prickett are all California natives. Four live within 90 miles of Los Angeles, while Hutchison is from San Diego and Prickett is a Petaluma native.
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE
The Aggies will enter the matchup with NC State with a 4-4 record, after falling to Tennessee on Monday in its final game of the Troy Cox Classic. New Mexico made a postseason appearance in 2015 and won the 2016 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season title.
ABOUT OREGON STATE
Oregon State also played in the Troy Cox Classic last weekend winning three of its five games, including a 6-2 victory over New Mexico State. The Beavers are 6-2 this season and are coming off of an NCAA Regional appearance in 2016.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats (1-8) held off Tulsa in their season opener 3-2 for their only win of 2017. Northwestern traveled to the Tallahassee site for the ACC/B1G Challenge last weekend, dropping all four games to No. 3 Florida State and No. 24 Pittsburgh. Like Oregon State, Northwestern was an NCAA Tournament selection last year.
ABOUT UCLA
No. 6/5 UCLA has reached the World Series the past two years. The Bruins (10-1) have only lost one game this season, when the team split a doubleheader with No. 22 Kentucky on Feb. 15. UCLA played in the first round of the Mary Nutter Classic last weekend, defeating Cal Poly, UCF, UC Davis and Liberty.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA
Reigning World Series Champion Oklahoma will enter the tournament with a 6-2 record, coming off of four-straight wins at the Houston Classic last weekend. The Sooners are listed at No. 4/6 in the latest national polls.
Players Mentioned
C/1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
SS/2B
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
C/1B
/ Softball
SS/2B
/ Softball
2B/SS
/ Softball
P/UT
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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