Wolfpack softball headed to NCAA Super Regionals
What seemed to be a lofty goal for the N.C. State softball team at the beginning of the season has now come to fruition, as the Wolfpack is heading to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in program history.
Junior first baseman Maggie Hawkins hit a walkoff homerun in the bottom of the seventh on Sunday to lift the Pack to a 2-1 win against Fordham in the final of the Harrisonburg (Va.) Regional.
N.C. State compiled a perfect 3-0 record in the regional to earn the program’s first trip to an NCAA Super Regional.
The Wolfpack will begin play in the Eugene (Ore.) Super Regional against top-ranked Oregon at 9 p.m. Friday. Game two of the super regional will be at 3 p.m. Saturday with game three to follow at 6 p.m. if necessary.
All three games will be broadcast live on ESPNU and played at Howe Field on the University of Oregon campus.
Women’s Tennis
North Carolina: The No. 2 seed Tar Heels fell in the quarterfinals to seventh-seeded UCLA 4-1 at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center in on Baylor’s campus in Waco, Texas.
This was a rematch of the NCAA final last spring, which UCLA won 4-3.
UNC finished the season 30-2 (14-1) and plans to return most of its team next season.
Baseball
East Carolina: After completing its road sweep at Cincinnati on Saturday, the Pirates will take aim at their first conference tournament title since 2002 when they open play as the No. 2 seed at the American Athletic Conference championships. The six-day event will run Tuesday through Sunday at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.
ECU (36-20), which earned the second seed in its first year as a member of the conference, will open against No. 7 seed Central Florida (31-25) at 11 a.m Wednesday.
Mount Olive: Rob Shipman belted two home runs for No. 24 Mount Olive, however North Georgia had a ninth-inning home run to win 6-5 and eliminate the Trojans from the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional in Thomasville.
Campbell: The Camels will be the No. 6 seed in the Big South Baseball Championship, facing No. 3 Winthrop on Tuesday.
The game will be played 45 minutes after the No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 7 Charleston Southern opener, scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. start.
Campbell (31-23, 12-12) secured the No. 6 seed with a series win against No. 25 Coastal Carolina. The Camels defeated the nationally ranked Chanticleers twice on the weekend, topping a ranked team for the second and third time in eight days. Campbell also defeated No. 9 California 5-3 last week.
The Camels and Winthrop last met in the 2014 Big South tournament final. Campbell won 9-1 to advance to the NCAA regionals.
Track & Field
East Carolina: On the final day of the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, East Carolina won three events to bring its individual titles to five. The Pirates placed sixth on both sides as the men’s squad totaled 89.50 points, and the women totaled 77.50 points. The Southern Methodist women (131 points) and the UConn men (158 points) won the conference championships.
This story was originally published May 17, 2015 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Wolfpack softball headed to NCAA Super Regionals."