N.C. State paid its dues when the program was launched and the team was young, but now they are reaping the rewards of an experienced and battle-tested team this season.
Having bested the Yellow Jackets in last weekend’s series, the Wolfpack (35-15, 8-4 ACC) now find themselves alone in second place in the conference. State has now won a program-best eight ACC contests.
The Pack will travel to Charlotte today for an evening doubleheader with the 49ers that begins at 6 p.m.
The 49ers are led by junior Kristi Killough, who is batting .379 and has slugged a school-record of ten homeruns on the season. The slugger helped Charlotte to split a doubleheader with Massachusetts last weekend.
Coach Lisa Navas is aware of the competition that exists in North Carolina, and acknowledges the parity between teams in the ACC and those in other conferences.
“They are a very good team and doing exceptionally well this year,” Navas said. “When it comes to a game within the state of North Carolina, all teams are going to play a UNC or [N.C. State] like it’s the World Series.”
Due to the youth of the program, there has not been enough time to develop facilities that would help State practice more efficiently. Nonetheless, Navas is pleased with the team’s approach to practicing.
“This is a tough place to practice, we have to chase some dogs off the field every once in a while,” Navas said. “The kids have done well though, they don’t know anything different.”
Senior second baseman Tess Corona played a vital role in taking two of three from the Jackets last weekend. She went 2-4 in the doubleheader and added her second homerun of the campaign.
In helping to eliminate one-run losses, she realizes focusing on the basics of the game is of paramount importance.
“We are really working on being more consistent,” Corona said. “We are not going to do anything new or special because it’s the end of our season – we still do fundamentals in practice that we’ve done since day one.”
Last week, junior pitcher Shaina Ervin was named ACC Player of the Week for pitching 19 innings, going 3-0 and allowing just one earned run. Ervin echoes Corona’s sentiment concerning the nuts and bolts of playing the game.
“In practice, we get back to the fundamentals because when you come up short one run, it’s more about trying to perfect the little things,” Ervin said. “When you do that, you can build and it makes a greater big thing.”
State hopes for its attention to detail to manifest itself in tonight’s doubleheader against Charlotte, a team noted for its aggressive play.
“We worked a lot on bunt defense and the short game,” Ervin said. “They have some quick girls on their team.”
The success the Pack has enjoyed this season resonates amongst the team, but Corona said Navas is reminding them of what is on tap for the rest of the season.
“Like coach always says, tomorrow is a new day,” Corona said. “We try not to keep talking about our previous wins, we want to focus on what we have coming up.”
Despite the Pack catapulting themselves to second place in the ACC, Navas has not lost sight of the team’s supreme goal – clinching a berth in the regionals.
“Last year when [we found out] that North Carolina was going to regionals and we weren’t, that was the sickest feeling I’ve ever had,” Navas said. “That’s what I remind them of for what we are working toward this year.”
