The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/430118
52 ■ THE WOLFPACKER her throw five or six games in a weekend," Rychcik said. "That doesn't scare me, but it's nice to know we have a little more sup- port for her this year. She'll get the ball when we need a win; I'm very confident in what she can do. "I'd like to think this year could be a special one. We've got a tough schedule to prepare us with quite a few SEC teams. To say we're off to the World Series this year is probably not fair to the team, but can we be better than any other year? Definitely. That's our goal, and we're going to strive for it." ■ Noting The Pack • Head coach Shawn Rychcik has put together a challenging slate for his group, including matchups with 12 squads that qualified for the NCAA Tour- nament last year, highlighted by three games against reigning national champion Florida in Gainesville and a single contest against runner-up Alabama. • The Pack received votes in the final ESPN.com/ USA Softball Top 25 rankings last year. • A player that could be ready to burst onto the scene as an everyday performer, according to the coach, is sophomore outfielder Tyler Ross. She made 12 starts last year and missed time with inju- ries, but smashed a pair of pinch-hit home runs last season against North Carolina and hit two grand slams in the same game this fall. • The freshman class boasts just four players, but all could make an immediate impact. In addition to second baseman Alyssa Compton and pitcher Harli Hubbard, the team brought in North Carolina's all-time home run leader in Meredith Burroughs, who will see time at first base and the outfield, and Macauley Prickett, a Californian who will contend for time in center field. ■ By The Numbers 3 Highest season batting averages in school history are owned by current players — senior Renada Davis holds the top two spots (.375 last year and .362 in 2012), while junior Lana Van Dyken ranks third with last year's clip (.361). 29 ACC victories have been recorded in head coach Shawn Rychcik's two years at the helm against just 15 league losses (.659 win percentage). The team had just 34 conference wins in the five seasons prior to his hire. 63 Wins have been recorded in the last two seasons by senior pitcher Emily Weiman — a number that would rank second in school history. She also won 14 games as a freshman and needs just 13 wins to tie Abbie Sims' career record of 90. Weiman posted a record of 30-15 — the second-most wins in the conference last season and by an NC State pitcher in program history — and 2.73 ERA while striking out 253 batters in 269 2 ⁄3 innings. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP Newcomer To Watch Junior first baseman Maggie Hawkins The transfer from Hofstra knew star pitcher Emily Wei- man because they both hail from Maryland, and now the two will team up in Raleigh. In her first two years of collegiate competition, Hawkins saw ac- tion in every game and started all but one. She led her squad in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage last year en route to all-region and all-conference laurels, and will immediately step into the middle of the lineup.