Natalie Folsom
NCSU teammates fist bump with redshirt junior catcher, Sam Sack, as she is called on the field. Sack had 3 putouts in the game against Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack lost 2-4 on Friday, Mar. 12 at Dail Softball Field.
The NC State softball team has hit a bit of a skid lately, dropping six of its last 10 games after a 10-2 start to the season. With the Pack hanging around in the middle of the ACC standings, let’s have a look at what they can do to make a postseason push.
Overall good quality in the batter’s box
The Wolfpack (14-8, 10-8 ACC) boasts an ACC-best team on-base percentage of .402 in addition to 32 home runs on the season, good enough for second in the conference behind Georgia Tech’s 33. The offensive output is spearheaded by a potent heart of the lineup, featuring redshirt senior center fielder Angie Rizzi, redshirt junior third baseman Logan Morris and redshirt junior infielder Randi Farricker.
Rizzi appears frequently in the ACC statistical leaderboards including second in on-base percentage, fifth in slugging percentage and tied for first in walks. Morris’ name comes up a few times as well, leading the ACC in RBI and an eighth place ranking in on-base percentage. Not to be forgotten, Farricker’s seven home runs tie with five other ACC players for top of the conference.
The bottom third of the lineup needs to step up
For NC State to make a postseason bid, there will have to be more production from the bottom of the batting order. This problem has been exacerbated by the absence of redshirt freshman pitcher/infielder Sam Gress, who has missed the last two series with an ankle sprain. Gress served as the primary shortstop for the Pack at the start of the year, though only batting .231 on the season. Still, Gress’ .432 on-base percentage, a stat boosted by seven hit by pitches, is sorely missed in a bottom third of the Wolfpack lineup that only touches the Mendoza line once and falls below it twice.
In Gress’ absence, Farricker has moved from her typical spot at first to shortstop while freshman infielder Haley Haislip initially took over the first base position. As Haislip continues to struggle for her first collegiate hit through 14 at-bats, redshirt freshman Libby Whitaker has since taken over the first baseman role. This is hardly a solution to the problem, however, as Whitaker’s .167 batting average falls into the same sub-.200 echelon as the rest of the bottom-third batters. Simply put, two-thirds of a quality lineup does not a postseason team make.
Pitching staff needs to improve control
Gress is also missed in the pitcher’s circle, as she helped supplement primary starter pitchers, redshirt senior right-hander Abby Trahan and redshirt-sophomore righty Sydney Nester, a pair that accounts for over 70% of all innings pitched for the Wolfpack. Freshmen right-handed pitcher Brooklyn Lucero and left-handed pitcher Estelle Czech have been solid in relief, each sporting an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) under 1.50, but Gress’ team-leading opposing batting average, ERA and WHIP are needed to improve a pitching staff that places 12th in the ACC in walks per seven innings.
Even without Gress to bolster the rotation, the rest of the Wolfpack pitchers need to step it up in terms of controlling their pitches. Nester, in particular, lacks control of her pitches, as she walks opposing batters almost as often as she allows hits, 41 and 53, respectively, in addition to her 10 wild pitches so far this season. Nester is not solely to blame however, as Trahan also lets balls get away from her in the form of going over the plate. Trahan’s team-leading 11 home runs allowed accounts for half of the team’s ACC second-worst 22 total home runs allowed
Even with a defense that ranks third from the bottom of the ACC in fielding percentage, resulting in 50 of the Wolfpack’s 141 total runs allowed being unearned, the lack of precision from the pitching staff is holding back the Pack from ascending the ACC standings.
Where does NC State go from here?
With a series at Notre Dame coming on Friday, March 26 and four consecutive series against ranked opponents to close out the regular season, NC State certainly has its work cut out for it. The Wolfpack will have to capitalize on its comparatively easy schedule against Notre Dame, North Carolina A&T and Pittsburgh before that four-series gauntlet prior to the ACC Tournament.
If the series against then-No. 15 Virginia Tech is any indication, where NC State dropped three of four while being outscored 33-16, the Pack will struggle to find wins down the stretch. No. 13 LSU, No. 20 Clemson, No. 12 Florida State and, finally, No. 11 Duke comprise the last four series of the regular season, making the Pack’s postseason prospects pretty grim. But if the Pack can solve its pitch placement issues and see some better production from the bottom of the order, NC State can round out the season on the upswing and carry some momentum into the ACC Tournament. From there, anything can happen.