After dropping six-straight games, NC State softball got back to winning ways with a 10-2 run-rule victory over ECU.
Unable to get anything to go its way during its road trips at then-No. 20 Stanford and then-No. 23 Virginia, the Pack (26-23) had an offensive explosion versus the Pirates (29-24) with 13 hits in five innings, including two home runs and five doubles.
It all started with a nuke from senior designated hitter Hannah Church, who sent one off the top of the left field wall. From there, the Pack just kept barrelling balls to victory.
“I’ve had some struggles over these past few weeks, so to come through at my first at-bat with a double — well, a single down the line because I’m too slow to get there,” Church said jokingly. “I think it gave the little bit of spark that we needed back.”
After Church’s well-struck line drive, senior right fielder MaKayla Marbury knocked a double off the wall on the next pitch. Soon, freshman third baseman Lily Livingston blew the cap off with a two-run, 231-foot bomb that nearly cleared the protective netting beyond the fence.
From there, it was smooth sailing as freshman two-way player Morgen Talley was solid in the circle, even recording a four-pitch inning in the fourth frame. She gave up four hits and two walks for two earned runs.
“I think it’s a good testament for Morgen, after getting hit around a bit on Sunday, to come back today and put herself in a spot to be successful,” head coach Lindsay Leftwich said. “That’s the mentality you got to have in this thing. It’s always the next game or next pitch, and you can’t get caught up in the past.”
April 28 marked the last day of classes for the 2026 spring semester, and seniors across campus are feeling emotions best described as complex. That is no different for Church as her final campaign winds down.
“It’s bittersweet,” Church said. “Knowing your entire season, that this is the last time you’re ever gonna play a sport is a lot, but it’s freeing because you get to just have fun with it. You get to enjoy every second and build so many memories.”
The Pack looks to get a chance to make more memories with a push into the postseason, led by its mix of talented freshmen and experienced veterans.
After falling in the ACC rankings during the losing streak and being in a position where it could potentially miss the conference tournament for the fourth-straight year, the Pack still has work to do. Although the odds of not making the tournament are fairly slim, the top 12 of 15 ACC teams qualify for the event, and NC State currently sits as the No. 12 seed with two games in hand over the No. 13 seed, Syracuse. The Orange face a solid Virginia Tech team needing three wins to qualify.
To close the season, the Pack will face another solid ACC team, Louisville (41-10, 16-5), May 1-3. The first pitch of the first game is set for Friday at 7 p.m.
“We try to make it about us and not about them,” Leftwich said. “We gotta play clean defense, and we gotta win the freebie war in every space. Make a great play when it matters… Louisville does a good job of keeping you off balance and throwing a bunch of different pitches at you. We’re going to make sure our barrels are clean and have good intent, and hopefully square some things up in the process.”
