Raleigh, N.C. – North Carolina State pounded seven home runs en route to an 8-0, 9-0 sweep of Furman in non-conference softball action Wednesday afternoon at Dail Softball Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.
Game 1: NC State 8, Furman 0 (6 inn.)
The Wolfpack clubbed four home runs in game one and posted six runs in the third inning on the way to an 8-0 victory over Furman on Wednesday afternoon.
After Furman left the bases loaded following three singles in the first inning and stranded six total runners over the first three innings, North Carolina State exploded for six runs in the bottom of the third. April Visser led off the inning with a homer, Sam Russ doubled with one out and Logan Morgan followed with another blast to stake the Wolfpack to a 3-0 lead. With two outs and two on base, Brigette Nordberg delivered an RBI single and Libby Whittaker ripped a two-run single to up the NC State lead to 6-0.
Randi Farricker added a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth and Angie Rizzi cracked a solo homer in the sixth to complete the 8-0 shutout by mercy rule.
Estelle Czech (3-2) worked four scoreless innings to earn the victory. She allowed three hits and walked one batter while fanning three.
Bailey Tanner took the loss for the Paladins after allowing six runs on seven hits in five and one-third innings in the circle. The righthander walked two batters and struck out two.
Game 2: NC State 9, Furman 0 (5 inn.)
In game two, the top four hitters in the Wolfpack order went 7-for-10 with two doubles and three homers as NC State cruised past the Paladins, 9-0, in five innings.
Morris' RBI singled highlighted a two-run first inning before Russ hammered a two-out, three-run blast in the bottom of the second inning to extend the Wolfpack advantage to 5-0. In the fourth inning, Rizzi and Farricker each belted a two-run homer to put the Pack in front 9-0.
Rizzi, the leadoff hitter, went 2-for-2 with three runs, two RBI and a homer, while Farricker went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a homer and three RBI for NC State (24-13).
Sydney Nester (7-6) earned the win in the circle after tossing a complete game. She allowed just two hits over five scoreless frames and fanned seven Furman batters.
Freshman
Sierra Tufts (6-10) took the loss for the Paladins. The righthander surrendered five runs on six hits in two-plus innings.
Amanda Fleming went 2-for-2 at the place for Furman in the game two loss.
Furman (15-22, 6-3 SoCon) returns home to host the Chattanooga Mocs in a three-game Southern Conference series this weekend. Due to the threat of inclement weather, Furman and Chattanooga will play a single game on Saturday at Pepsi Stadium at 6 p.m. before concluding the weekend series with a doubleheader on Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games are slated to be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats available through StatBroadcast at FurmanPaladins.com.
