Softball slides past N.C. State

With a strong showing against N.C. State last weekend, the Lady Jackets are poised to make a strong run at the College World Series in Oklahoma City this June.

Sitting atop the ACC, the softball squad has built a four-game winning streak with their last loss coming in early April against Virginia at Charlottesville.

Over their last 14 games, the ladies are 12-2. They have already set two team records so far this season: stolen bases in a series this past weekend with 17 and stolen bases in a single game with 7. They have also tied a school record with 13 straight wins to open the season.

There is no denying that the softball team is performing at a high level this season, nor is there any doubt that junior Amy Hosier is at the top of her game as well.

The Lakewood, Colo. native has improved every year, and now, in her third year at Tech, she has the second-best batting average on the team while leading the team in runs batted in.

" This is the best team that I have played for over the years, " Hosier said. " We have a lot of new players this year who have stepped up and done a great job filling in for our seniors that we lost last year. I think the difference this year compared to my past years has to be our speed. We have about five or six players with good speed that can steal the bases well, and it has made a huge difference. "

Hosier is part of a geographically diverse team, which boasts 13 out-of-state members. Upon graduation from high school, Hosier saw Tech as an opportunity to be on her own and meet new people.

" I decided to choose Tech because I knew it was a great academic school, and I had an opportunity to play for a good softball program. I also thought it was a great opportunity to get out on my own and meet some new people. It did help knowing that there were people from other states as far as California, and I figured if they could be that far away from home that I could, too, " the left-fielder said.

Last year, then-freshman Kristina Hull joined Hosier as the second representative on the team from the state of Colorado.

" I had never met Kristina until she came here, but we did play each other one time, " Hosier said.

" It ' s nice to have someone else from Colorado on the team because they know where you are coming from, and we can relate to each other, " she said.

Hosier knows she ' s improved substantially since last season, and she does not doubt that any one of her young teammates would be able to make the same kind of strides in the future.

" I think that anyone on our team has the ability to step up as a leader on and off of the field. I know that our upperclassmen will step up and take their role as leaders, just as our seniors right now have done, " Hosier said.