NC State softball entered the top of the third inning with a 5-0 lead against LSU and held on to the lead till the seventh, but a two-run, no-doubt bomb from LSU sent the Wolfpack packing in a 7-5 meltdown loss.
With the Wolfpack (1-2) holding a 5-2 lead over the Tigers (3-0), redshirt junior right-hander Wynne Gore was ready to complete her campaign of a game with a win. Gore had kept the Tigers at bay, only allowing two runs before the bottom of the 7th. Gore let up a triple against the first batter she faced, and it was all downhill from there.
Head coach Lindsay Leftwich decided that 115 pitches would be Gore’s limit, and on came senior right-hander Rylee Wyman to close out the game with a runner on third. She walked one batter and threw six pitches before Leftwich had seen enough and subbed in utility freshman Morgen Talley — who threw 102 pitches for a win versus Lamar the previous day — to try and close the door with runners on first and third.
The freshman couldn’t figure out the Tigers, as the heart of the lineup gave her major trouble. Talley threw 20 pitches, two of which scored runs for the Tigers on wild pitches. She gave up two hits, a line-drive double and the walkoff homer. The pitching for the Wolfpack had a major meltdown, and blew a hard-built lead.
Gore was a bright spot as the only Wolfpack pitcher to have a strikeout, with four on the evening. She exited the game with 54 strikes, six walks and gave up three earned runs; a solid performance that delivered a 3.50 ERA. She did give up a homer in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Pack lead to only three, but otherwise it was a clean game for Gore.
The pitching wasn’t the only issue the Wolfpack had as the bats went cold in the third inning, and were not to be seen again.
The Pack had eight hits to LSU’s nine, and it left six batters stranded on base. With runners in scoring positions, the Wolfpack couldn’t do anything with the bats from the fourth inning on. The Pack had the game in the bag, but just ran out of gas too soon.
The Wolfpack had scored two runs in the first inning on a single hit by senior catcher Hannah Church that drove in one run and then a second due to obstruction. In the third inning, the Wolfpack was all over the Tigers starter, hitting an RBI double, an RBI single and a sacrifice flyout RBI. This inning prompted the Tigers head coach to make a pitching swap.
The Wolfpack couldn’t figure out LSU’s Tatum Clopton as she struck out six batters, allowed one hit and zero runs with two walks. Without Clopton’s impeccable performance, the Tiger batters don’t even get a chance at a comeback. She opened the door, and the offense took full advantage.
The Pack will meet the Illinois Fighting Illini, Saturday, Feb 7, to cap-off its time in Baton Rouge. First pitch is set for 11 a.m.
