School’s out, but several NC State athletic teams are still competing for championships in softball, baseball and women’s golf.
Notably, for the first time in the program’s 12-year history, the Wolfpack softball team is playing for a chance to go to the College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Third-year head coach Shawn Rychcik’s team will play a three-game series this weekend against No. 1 Oregon in the NCAA Eugene (Ore.) Super Regional, with the winner advancing to the CWS the following week. The first game is on Friday at 9 p.m. EDT, followed by game two at 3 p.m. EDT on Saturday. The final game, if necessary, will be at 6 p.m. Saturday.
All games in the super regional will be broadcast on ESPNU.
The Pack swept three games in the NCAA Harrisonburg (Va.) Regional last week with a pair of wins over Fordham and one over host James Madison.
Junior first baseman Maggie Hawkins assured the victory in the bottom of the seventh inning of the regional title game with a walk-off solo home run to centerfield against Fordham.
Rychcik, who led the Wolfpack to an ACC title in his first season in 2013, called the regional victory the top moment of his coaching career.
“This is number one,” said Rychcik, who has led the program to three consecutive NCAA appearances. “We’ve had some good moments and I’ve had some good players, but this tops everything I’ve done so far.”
Led by record-setting senior shortstop Renada Davis and senior pitcher Emily Weiman, the softball team owns a 38-20 record heading into the weekend. Davis is the ACC career homerun leader with 63 in her four seasons. She’s currently riding a 15-game hit streak and set the NC State record with 70 hits so far this season. Weiman has a school-record 108 victories and 1,049 strikeouts in her career.
Baseball at the ACC Championship in Durham
The Wolfpack baseball team will play at least three games this weekend in Pool B of the ACC Baseball Championship at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, beginning Thursday at 11 a.m. against Notre Dame. It will then play at 7 p.m. on Friday against Miami and 7 p.m. Saturday against Virginia. All pool games will be televised regionally and available as livestreams on ESPN3.
The championship game, between the winners of Pools A and B, will be on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.
Head coach Elliott Avent’s team finished the regular season with a 31-20 overall record and a 16-15 record in the ACC by winning 10 of its final 12 contests.
Women’s golf at NCAA Championship
The Wolfpack women’s golf team finished third at the NCAA Raleigh Regional hosted at the Lonnie Poole Golf Club and advances for the second year in a row to the NCAA Championship. This year’s tournament will be held at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. The final three days of the event will be televised by the Golf Channel.
Junior Rachael Taylor and seniors Vivian Tsui and Lindsay McGetrick all finished in the top 30 of the NCAA Raleigh Regional for head coach Page Marsh to help the Wolfpack advance to the championship round.
Last year, the women’s golf team was 10th in the NCAA Championship, the highest finish in school history.
Follow all NC State athletics at www.GoPack.com.
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