Softball Picks Up Wins Over UMBC, Murray State

Sunday, February 24

Raleigh, N.C.

1:30 PM

NC State

4-6

UMBC

1-2

UMBC

NC State

2/24/2019 6:25:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

RALEIGH – After the first two days of competition for the Fairfield Inn & Suites Crabtree Invitational were cancelled due to rain in the area, the NC State softball team (5-6) managed to pick up a pair of wins on Sunday afternoon at Dail Stadium over UMBC (1-2) and Murray State (4-7).

Game one was a contest with the Retrievers that ultimately became a pitcher's duel, as the teams combined for just five hits. UMBC tried to rally in the seventh with a run but the Pack's defense was able to shut down its attempted surge to pick a 2-1 win.

Thanks to a season-high 11 hits against the Racers in game two, the Wolfpack earned a 9-1 (6) run-rule win that featured three-run homers from both Sam Russ and Jessica Moore. The Wolfpack has hit 12 home runs so far this season.

Of Note (Game One)
-Russ hit her first career home run in the fourth inning. She went 2-for-3 while Natalie Jones hit her second double of the year.
-Sydney Nester (3-2) threw six innings, not allowing an earned run to score while striking out a career-high seven batters.
-Devin Wallace entered the game in the seventh with runners on first and second with no outs, and managed to pick up her first save of the season.

How It Happened (Game One)
-NC State threatened in the home half of the first inning, loading the bases on a leadoff single and pair of walks with one out, but a pair of swinging strikeouts from UMBC pitcher Courtney Coppersmith kept the Pack at bay.
-The Pack once again loaded up the bases in the second inning on a pair of walks and hit-by-pitch with two outs, and managed to score its first run thanks to Logan Morris's RBI walk.
-Russ doubled the team's lead to two with her leadoff homer to right field in the fourth inning.
-UMBC tried to rally in the seventh, plating a run on a passed ball after three consecutive batters were hit-by-pitch to load the bases. Wallace managed to strike out a pair of batters in the frame and Morris fielded a ground ball across the diamond to end the game.

Of Note (Game Two)
-Russ and Moore were sensational in the Pack's win over Murray State as both hit three-run home runs in the third inning, scoring six of the seven runs that frame.
-The team combined for a season-high 11 hits in the contest, as Kelli Wagner (3-for-3), Skylar Johnston (2-for-3) and Brigette Nordberg (2-for-4) each had a multi-hit outing.
-Wallace (2-3) picked up her second win of the year, not allowing a run to score in the five innings she threw.

How It Happened (Game Two)
-After two scoreless innings, NC State's offensive burst of seven runs on six hits and an error allowed the team to take a commanding 7-0 lead in the third.
-The 7-0 score held until the sixth inning, when Madison Culver hit a solo homer to left field to help Murray State avoid the shutout.
-In the bottom frame, Nordberg hit a two-RBI triple to right field after Wagner and Angie Rizzi led off the side with outfield singles. Nordberg's second triple of the year sealed the run-rule win for the Wolfpack.

On Deck
NC State will complete competition in the Fairfield Inn & Suites Crabtree Invitational Monday when it hosts Murray State in the final game of the tournament. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.