After being swept last weekend by Duke, the No. 13 Hokies (25-8-1, 9-3 ACC) look to rally in Raleigh in their three-game series at NC State (19-16, 1-11).
Prior to last weekend, Virginia Tech had swept ACC foes Notre Dame, Louisville and Pitt. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack started its ACC schedule with a 6-1 win at Clemson but dropped the next two games to the Tigers and was subsequently swept by Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and Florida State.
Here is the schedule for the weekend:
This is the 20th season of softball at NC State. The Wolfpack has won two ACC championships, made five NCAA Tournament appearances and one NCAA Super Regional.
NC State, which was picked 11th in the ACC preseason poll, is coming off a tumultuous 2023 season in which head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift was dismissed on March 2. The Wolfpack finished last season with an interim coach and named LSU assistant Lindsey Leftwich head coach on June 3. She spent 12 seasons at LSU as an assistant and has the Wolfpack playing at a much higher level than last season.
NC State returned 18 players from last season, including its best bat in infielder Hannah Goodwin (.359), though she’s struggled this season.
Although it has 11 consecutive ACC losses, NC State recorded some quality non-conference wins against South Carolina (RPI No. 28), Northwestern (RPI No. 40) and East Carolina (RPI No. 82). In those victories, the pitching staff stepped up, which will have to happen against the Hokies if it wants a chance to win.
Right-handed sophomore Madison Inscoe (6-6, 3.77 ERA) threw shutouts against both Northwestern and South Carolina. Right-handed senior Aisha Weixlmann (6-6, 3.82 ERA) threw six scoreless innings vs. Clemson and a one-hitter vs. Michigan State.
Here is a comparison of the pitching staffs:
Offensively, the Wolfpack is a young team with its top seven hitters consisting of five sophomores, one freshman and one junior. It’s tenth in the ACC in team batting average (.267) and ninth in runs scored (169).
Here’s a comparison of the hitters:
Defensively, NC State has struggled this year. It leads the ACC in errors with 47 and is consequently last in fielding percentage (.949).
Here is the tale of the tape:
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Let’s Go Hokies!
Let’s Go…fix the little things and keep striving to improve in each game. Looking forward to watching this series.
GO HOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Need to win at least two but should sweep. That said I think State made a good hire in Leftwich and has a decent core of talent. That program should gradually improve going forward.