In its last home series of the season, the NC State softball team faced off against UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday and Saturday.
The Wolfpack (26-19, 10-8 ACC) started the series off with a 6-2 victory over the Tar Heels (33-11, 15-4 ACC) on Friday night. The Pack was unable to close the gap in Saturday’s double header, losing its first match 2-3, and falling again, 2-6 in its final faceoff.
Timely hitting and strong defensive play proved a successful recipe for the Pack as it managed to keep the powerful bats of the Tar Heels at bay, Friday.
Senior pitcher Emily Weiman started on the mound in what would be the last home series of her collegiate career. The talented righty was able to pitch a complete game and give up only two earned runs on her way to recording eight strikeouts. The NC State record holder in career strikeouts wanted to be sure that she delivered a strong outing in possibly her last home field appearance.
“It has meant a lot to get here,” Weiman said. “I am going to miss it like crazy.”
Weiman was helped on the mound by some impressive infield play. Junior third baseman Lana Van Dyken was able to show off the leather on more than a few occasions.
“She has always had my back,” Weiman said of Van Dyken. “She is just a stud at third base. I have pretty supporting infielders and some great outfielders, so I can just go out there and do my thing, and trust my pitches and know that they are going to make plays.”
Van Dyken was able to perform at the plate as well, joining junior first baseman Maggie Hawkins and freshman designated player Meredith Burroughs as the only members of the Pack to have runs batted in. Van Dyken was able to hit a timely triple that brought in three runs for State and busted the game open heading into the seventh inning.
“She is one of the best third basemen in the country, there is no doubt about it,” head coach Shawn Rychcik said of Van Dyken. “She makes everybody else out there better too.”
The Pack’s ability to manufacture runs played a big role in the series opener, as the team was able to score six runs off of four hits due to patience at the plate.
Before the 1 p.m. start of Saturday’s first match, Weiman, along with her fellow seniors Renada Davis, Sara Lippard, and Morgan Tharrington, were honored on Senior Day.
“It’s an honor to coach them,” Rychcik said. “It’s always hard to see impactful seniors leave. I think they’re all good people. I hoped we would have won the series today but the loss doesn’t define who they are. I’m proud of them.”
The Wolfpack had a large audience Saturday. Dail Stadium was packed with 716 in attendance for the doubleheader.
“It pays respect to how we’ve been playing, and not just this year but the last couple years as well,” Rychcik said. “I know they’re not all parents.”
Overall, Rychcik is ready to move on with the rest of the season and put this rivalry loss behind him.
“I thought we had some good swings today, but hit some balls right at them,” Rychcik said. “I think [UNC-CH] had game two in hand and it got away from us. I’m disappointed. Can’t stand losing, doesn’t matter who it is. Obviously they’re a heated rival. When you win it feels like you’ve won 10 games in a row and when you lose it feels like you’ve lost 10 games in a row.”
The Pack’s final home game is 6 p.m. Thursday against North Carolina Central as the team hopes to amass 30 wins by the end of the season.
