Friday, February 14
Boca Raton, Fla.
6pm
NC State
vs
Purdue
Pack Set to Head Back to Florida for Joan Joyce Classic
2/11/2025 11:37:00 PM | Softball
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The NC State softball team is set to head back to Florida for the Joan Joyce Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic. The Pack will play five games in three days, facing Purdue twice, Dartmouth, Minnesota, and host FAU.
The Wolfpack will open play in Boca Raton at 6pm on Friday, Feb. 14 against Purdue before facing Dartmouth at 8:15pm. The Boilermakers and the Pack will face off again at 1:30pm on Saturday before NC State faces the Owls, who received votes and a No. 25 ranking in recent polls, at 3:45pm. Play will wrap up at 8:30am Sunday against Minnesota.
All five games will be streamed on FloSports.Â
The Basics of the Weekend
The Wolfpack will open play in Boca Raton at 6pm on Friday, Feb. 14 against Purdue before facing Dartmouth at 8:15pm. The Boilermakers and the Pack will face off again at 1:30pm on Saturday before NC State faces the Owls, who received votes and a No. 25 ranking in recent polls, at 3:45pm. Play will wrap up at 8:30am Sunday against Minnesota.
All five games will be streamed on FloSports.Â
The Basics of the Weekend
- The Wolfpack will open the weekend by meeting with the Boilermakers for the first time in two years. The two programs split the series, 2-2, with NC State winning the most recent meeting in 2023.
- NC State will meet with Dartmouth for the first time in program history.
- The Owls will host NC State for the third time in program history. The last time the two met was in 2017. FAU holds a 2-0 advantage over the Wolfpack.
- The Pack will tango with the Gophers to close out its time in Boca Raton. NC State won the initial meeting in 2006 but Minnesota has won the last four to take a 4-1 advantage in the series.
- (in game one on Friday) would be the fourth win of the season
- (in game one on Friday) would be the 34th win under head coach Lindsay Leftwich
- Sophomore Tori Ensley led the Wolfpack in opening weekend as she went 6-for-12 with one double. The outfielder leads the Pack with a .500 batting average through week one and recorded two stolen bases.
- Tori also tallied the first hit of the season for the Pack --Â a single to center field.
- Senior Taylor Ensley finished the weekend 4-for-16 at the plate but with two homers, including the game winner against JMU on Saturday, Feb. 8.
- While both sisters are offensive producers for the Pack, they are both defensive weapons as well.
- Regardless of which sister takes the reigns with the best stat line this season, they will always be rooting for each other.
- Junior catcher Hannah Church joined the Pack in summer 2024 after spending two seasons at Ohio State.
- She appeared in all five games of opening weekend and made four starts for the Pack. She went 4-for-12 from the plate and had one RBI.
- Head coach Lindsay Leftwich has mentioned she is someone to watch as she was launching rockets past the building in center field at Dail Softball Stadium all fall.
- Freshman Kendall Simmers was the only freshman to start all five games for the Wolfpack during opening weekend and she may have solidified her spot in the starting lineup after week one.
- She may have only gone 2-for-10 in the box, but she drew three walks and two RBI's for the Pack.
- The Bridgewater, Va. native recorded her first collegiate homer against Central Florida on Feb. 7.
- Defensively, she shifted between second base and shortstop. She tallied just one error throughout the weekend.
- Graduate catcher Payden Bordeau hadn't stepped onto the diamond in 991 days to to injury.
- She made her return behind the plate on Feb. 6 against her former team, the Georgia Bulldogs.
- During opening weekend, she secured two hits for the Pack and finished with a .250 batting average.
- Redshirt-sophomore pitcher Wynne Gore returned to the circle for the first time in over a year on opening weekend. She missed the entirety of the 2024 season due to hip injuries.
- She pitched three innings for the Pack against UCF and tallied one strikeout with no walks.
Players Mentioned
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IF/OF
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RHP
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IF
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