With fall practice complete, the softball team can gather itself and look forward to the coming season, along with an exciting new addition.

The Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium is located on campus at the intersection of Cates Avenue and Morrill Drive. The facility, which had its completion date pushed back multiple times, opened Sept. 24 for the team’s first practice in the stadium. The new place to play has the team excited.

“I feel like it’s going to bring more students out to our games,” senior shortstop Shanna Smith said. “Hopefully people will get to know the softball team more since we’re not so far away from campus, and new fans will learn more about the game.”

Of course, for those who have been expecting the complex to be completed for some time, it’s more than just a pleasant addition.

“We love it,” senior outfielder Blair Harkey said. “It’s just so convenient to be able to walk over there anytime you want. It’s nice to have it before I leave here.”

The stadium complex, like several other N.C. State athletic facilities, is named for Curtis and Jacqueline Dail.

As for the team itself, State just finished a four-game set of scrimmages in Athens, Ga., to wrap up its fall activities. The two games against Georgia, one against West Georgia and one against Anderson University provided a bright outlook for the 2008 season, according to Smith.

“We played good defense,” Smith said. “Our seniors really stepped up and led the team.” Smith cited a few notables from early play.

“Blair [Harkey] is a great centerfielder, and Alyssa Ishibashi really stepped up for us. I think she’s going to really come through for us,” Smith said.

Meanwhile, according to Harkey, the pitchers are also having success.

“Our pitchers did well,” Harkey said. “They came out there and did their jobs. Now we just have to get behind them.”

Though the fall games may be finished, Smith said plenty of work remains. With seven freshmen, Smith said fall practice was especially helpful.

“We’re still young, but the good thing about the fall is that it’s a time to make some improvements,” Smith said. “We didn’t hit as well as we would have liked, but we know that we can hit.”

Of course, technical skills are only half the battle, she noted.

“The thing we have to work on for the rest of the fall is just to get to know each other better and work out our weaknesses,” Smith said. “Once we do that, things will just fall right into place.”

Harkey added that the team is still working to improve.

“We’ve done well for as many new kids as we have,” Harkey said. “It’s just going to be a matter of us pulling together and getting to know how everyone plays. It was good for our first tournament, but we’ve got a lot of work we need to do.”