Three Honored on All-ACC Softball Team

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Following an outstanding regular season, three NC State softball student-athletes earned selection onto the All-ACC Softball team, as announced by the conference office Tuesday afternoon.

Angie Rizzi was selected to the second team, while Randi Farricker and Sam Russ earned third team accolades. It is the second time Russ has earned All-ACC honors, also doing so in 2019, while it is the first for both Rizzi and Farricker.

The three honorees are the most for NC State softball since 2015 and tie for the second-most all-time. NC State has had three honorees three prior times (2015, 2006, 2005) with a school-best four coming in 2013.

The All-ACC Softball team is voted on by the league's 13 head coaches with 15-players making up a first-team with one slot per position. An additional 30 are named to the second and third teams, regardless of position. The league also announced a 10-member All-Freshman team. This year's teams included 45 student-athletes from 12 schools. NC State is one of nine schools with three or more.

Angie Rizzi | OF | Redshirt Senior

Rizzi has had a powerhouse season, leading the Wolfpack with a team-best .359 batting average, 28 walks and .479 on-base percentage. The fifth year senior has been a key part of the Pack's success this season, ranking fifth in the ACC and second on the NC State team with 12 home runs.

Rizzi is second on the team and third in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 27 stolen bases, a mark that ranks as the third most in a single-season at NC State. RIzzi's .725 slugging percentage, on-base percentage and batting average are all poised to rank inside the top-10 all-time at NC State.

She has recorded 13 multi-hit games and 11 games this season with multiple RBI, batting in the leadoff spot for several games. Rizzi was named ACC Player of the Week earlier this season following an 8-for-13 performance across four games against Pitt where she had a 1.154 slugging percentage with a double and two home runs.

Randi Farricker | IF | Redshirt Junior

Farricker concluded the regular season taking both the ACC home run title and lead in slugging percentage. Farricker's 17 home runs rank 11th nationally and fourth in a single-season at NC State. Her .819 slugging percentage sits as one of the top single-season marks in school history, and also ranks top-35 nationally. The redshirt junior has consistently hit for power with 28 of her 41 hits this season being for extra bases including a team-best 10 doubles and a triple.

She has played shortstop and first base this season for the Wolfpack, playing in all 49 games this season and recording 10 multi-hit and 11 multi-RBI games. 11 of her 17 home runs came against league competition, as she also has a .428 on-base percentage. Farricker tied a program record with three home runs in a single-game against North Carolina A&T, a number that is tied for the best in the NCAA this season.

Farricker is the first NC State player to lead the ACC in home runs since Renada Davis did so in 2013, and the third all-time.

Sam Russ | OF | Redshirt Junior

Russ continued to be a steady part of the Wolfpack lineup, starting all 49 games in the outfield, and showing she can hit for power and for speed. The redshirt junior has 13 multi-hit and eight mutli-RBI games this season, including all three of NC State's seventh-inning walk off home runs. She batted leadoff in over half the games this season for NC State, reaching base in 39 of her 49 games played, and ranks top-four on the NC State team in nearly every statistical category. Russ is also the eighth NC State softball player all-time to earn multiple All-ACC awards in their career.

Russ set the NC State career stolen base record earlier this season, with 88 in her career. She set the record in 105 less games than the previous record holder and most recently became only the second NC State softball or baseball player to eclipse 100 stolen bases. Already owning the school-single season record, Russ has a chance to break her own record as she has 30 stolen bases this season. Her 30 stolen bases lead the ACC and rank 13th nationally.

Russ earned ACC Player of the Week and D1Softball National Player of the Week honors earlier this season following back-to-back walk off home run performances against Georgia Tech. In the four-game series she batted .533 with a 1.000 slugging percentage, including a 2-for-3 performance in the series finale.

Rizzi, Farricker, Russ and the NC State softball team are set to open action at the 2021 ACC Softball Championship as the seven-seed in Louisville, Ky. on Wednesday, May 12 at 3:30 p.m. against 10th-seeded North Carolina.

North Carolina State University Athletics

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Randi Farricker

Angie Rizzi

Sam Russ

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