It was another late collapse for NC State softball in a mid-week matchup, this time versus a high-caliber No. 22 Arizona State team as the Pack fell 7-3.
Heading into the final inning in a tie ball game, the Wolfpack (19-14) was hanging with the Sun Devils (24-9) as freshman two-way phenom Morgen Talley had the Pack in a 3-3 knot. Giving up just three runs on 111 pitches, she put NC State in a solid spot defensively. All it needed to do was get a few points on the board. She provided those as well, smacking the game-tying two-RBI home run in the third inning and going 2-for-3 at the plate.
But her efforts were for not after she was pulled from the circle in the seventh inning. After giving up a hard-hit leadoff single as her command started to fade, head coach Lindsay Leftwich turned to redshirt-junior pitcher Wynne Gore.
Under the bright lights with a chance to pull the season back on track with a win versus a ranked opponent, the Wolfpack crumbled.
On infield grounders, players hesitated with where to throw the ball, faced with a dilemma. Get the out at first, or get the lead runner on the way to home plate? The Pack chose wrong as the Sun Devils scored two runs in such a manner, not going for the easy out and instead throwing it home just to not get the tag on and allow more damage.
“I think things get fast on us sometimes, and we don’t do a good enough job of staying in our routine and sinking to what we know,” Leftwich said. “We let the inning get fast, and the pressure kind of bent us a little bit … We got to just keep continuing to do what we do every day and not change it when the moment gets big.”
The Pack could not close it out late, but it also struggled to produce anything early other than the heroics of Talley. The other Wolfpack run came from a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior left fielder MaKayla Marbury. That was after three-straight singles to open the second inning to load the bases. The Pack only recorded one run in that frame.
“The offense has to string more things together,” Leftwich said. “… We’re getting a bunch of lead off hitters on. We’re walking in the right spots, and from there, we’re stranding everyone imaginable. We’ve left a small village on base in the past couple weeks here and that is the difference maker here, getting the big hit at the right time.”
Still, this game showed further proof that Talley is something special with her quality outing in the circle and game-tying home run with two hits at the plate.
“She’s a special player, and I think that as the season goes on and the more she matures, we’re going to see her get better and better,” Leftwich said. “We’ve got to find a way to offensively support her while she’s on the mound.”
This was the second mid-week game where the Pack fell apart in the final inning. The first loss came to UNC-Charlotte, who put an end to NC State’s nearly historic 15-game win streak. It also marked a shift in the rollercoaster season that NC State has endured. After losing seven of its first 10, NC State won 15 in a row. Now, it has lost seven of its last eight.
But the Pack will have another chance to turn that around and get back on the up-and-up with a series at Syracuse on March 27-29. The first game is set for Friday, with first pitch at 3 p.m.
