NCSU Student Media
Freshman first baseman Hanna Sommer hits a ground ball against Maryland at Dail Softball Stadium April 6, 2013. The Wolfpack took the three-game weekend series 2-1, bringing their record to 5-6 in conference play and 19-17-1 overall. Photo by Caide Wooten.
The N.C. State softball team continued its recent surge with a doubleheader sweep against the Campbell Camels Wednesday in Buies Creek, N.C. The Wolfpack have won seven of its last eight games and improved to 21-17-1 on the season. State won the opener 8-0 in five innings.
Senior outfielder Caitlin Dent smashed four home runs in the two games, including a pair of pivotal three-run home runs in State’s 7-5 win in the second game of the doubleheader. The Boynton Beach-native went 5-for-6 for the evening, with five runs scored and nine RBIs.
“Today was Caitlin’s day,” head coach Shawn Rychcik said. “What a great day for her and for us.”
Dent’s four home runs matched her total for all of last season.
“I just went up to the plate every time thinking about driving through the ball and getting hits,” Dent said. “I just wanted to hit line drives. They just happened to go out of the park.”
Sophomore pitcher Emily Weiman earned victories in both games, improving to 19-15 on the season. The right-hander gave up 12 hits and yielded five runs in 12 innings of work.
While State only managed four hits in the second game, the Pack showed patience at the plate and produced enough timely hitting to produce its forth doubleheader sweep of the season.
“We’ve struggled at times getting the big hit this season,” Rychcik said. “But we had all kinds of big hits today.”
“We played really well today, jumping on them early in the first game and getting the hits we needed in the second.”
In the opener, the Pack was led by sophomore shortstop Renada Davis, who led off the game with a homer for the fifth time this season.
Davis, the ACC Rookie of the Year last season, is second place nationally with 17 home runs in 2013.
“It was a good all-around effort for us, hitting, pitching and defense,” Rychcik said. “Renada’s home run helped us get a five-spot in the first inning, and Emily pitched really well from the minute she stepped in the circle.”
“That’s the kind of softball I like to see us play,” Rychcik added. “[The opener was] a good performance in all phases of the game.”
The shutout win over the Camels in the first game marked the eighth time this season the Pack has won a game shortened by the run-rule.
N.C. State will return to action this weekend to face the UNC-Chapel Hill in a three-game series for its final home games of the season. Gametime for the opener Saturday is 1:00 p.m. and will be Senior Day for Dent, Bethaney Wells and Katie Mansilla.