Scrimmage Report:
#5 NCSU (0-0) vs. #1 Penn State (1-0)

Box Score Penn State 0 1 7 0 8 16 NCState 3 3 5 2 6 19 Note: game called on darkness

The Wolfpack softball team had lost a couple of key players to free agency during the off-season. Coach Taylor was lacking depth at several key positions as he hit the recruiting trails this past fall. Taylor and his assistants combed the local high schools for any talent... softball talent that is. The recruiting trails lead throughout the south as the coaching staff eyed some of the top players in the country. As Coach Amato had done in football, the Wolfpack softball coaches' hard recruiting efforts also reaped huge dividends. Rivals softball recruiting magazine ranked this year's class as one of the top ten classes in the country.

One recruit pulled in was four-star third baseman Billy Parker. Parker chose the Pack over offers from North Carolina, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh. Parker hopes to graduate from the NC State softball team with a better understanding of the benefits of drinking cheap beer and the proper way to dance on tables. Another star recruit picked up was four-star recruit Melissa Hein. Hein chose the Pack over offers from Virginia and Virginia Tech. Hein stated, "I chose NC State over the other schools because the players on the Virginia teams were just too dawg on hard to understand. Ya'll might not believe me but I couldn't understand a darn thang they was sayin' with them there Northern Virginia accents." In all NC State pulled in seven top-rated recruits.

Well, the new recruits may have still been a little wet behind the ears, but they were going to have to grow up in a hurry as the Wolfpack opened up the Spring season with a scrimmage against Penn State, last year's tournament champions. Of course, it was the veterans that got the team off on the right foot as Jeff Taylor, Matt McMahan and Ed Taylor crossed the plate to give the Pack an early 3-0 lead. The always strong Wolfpack defense, led by the veteran pitcher, Bruce Baldwin, put the Nittany Lions down in order in the bottom of the first.

Greg Marlow and Alex Storey reached base in the 2nd and with one out, up stepped one of the members of this highly acclaimed rookie class, Jim Smith. The Penn State defense, showing the young rookie no respect, pulled the outfielders in shallow. The pitch came in and Smith tattooed it into the right center field gap. By the time the slow-footed Penn State defenders could retrieve the ball, Smith had touched all four bags. Not a bad way to start your NC State softball career. The NC State defense was once again stellar in the second inning holding the Nittany Lions to a single run. Ken Griffin stood out as he was doing his best Pete Rose imitations showing all sorts of hustle and making several diving catches.

The Pack scored five more in the top of the third to open up an 11-1 lead and appeared to be in complete control. In the bottom of the third, Rookie pitcher Amy Johnson came in to perform her first relief work in an NC State uniform, which for most of the players is composed of their coolest college t-shirt and some grungy jogging shorts. However, the Penn State batters did not greet her very kindly as they sent seven runners across the plate before the inning was over cutting the lead to 11-8. In interviews after the game Johnson commented, "My arm was just really tight out there today and I was a little nervous about seeing my first action. I couldn't get the spitter working and the change-up just wasn't dropping like it usually does. It was just my first outing though. Next outing I'll just stick with my curveball. It's unhittable when I've got the good left to right motion working."

The Pack defense hit the field again in the bottom of the 4th after plating two of their own in the top of the inning. The wild one, Alex Storey took the mound and baffled the Penn State offense, painting the corners of the plate with nasty off-speed pitches, shutting down the Lions.

After another impressive offensive output in the 5th, the Pack took a commanding 19-8 lead into the bottom of the 5th. Due to darkness, this was going to be the last inning. Of course, you couldn't ask for a better view for the final inning of a softball game. The Jefferson Memorial to your left, the Lincoln Memorial in front of you, and the White House to your right. Of course the Washington Monument was only about fifty yards behind home plate. How's that for a softball field?

Penn State did make run at the Pack in the last inning; however, we're blaming it on the fact that the defense couldn't see the ball due to the darkness. When the last out was made and the last ray of sunlight disappeared, the NC State team had taken an impressive 19-16 win over the defending champs.

A key was the Pack's ability to stay fresh. With a turnout of twenty people, players were rotated in out to keep everybody in top form. The team will get a nice rest to heal their first game bruises before hitting the field again. The season opener will be May 14th against the Maryland Tortoises. Hope to see everybody there and anybody interested in playing some softball or just watching the Wolfpack battle with the Terps come out and join us.

If you need any information about the league, you can find it at http://www.dcalum.org. Select Sports and Softball from the menu. Here you'll find the latest scores from around the league as well as each team's schedule and the division standings. If you need any further information contact me at Taylor.Edward@pbgc.gov. Look forward to seeing everybody out for the next game.