University of North Carolina Athletics
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North Carolina To Face Georgia Tech For ACC Softball Championship
May 11, 2002 | Softball
May 11, 2002
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Kelly Ramsey's three-run home run to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning gave North Carolina a 5-2 victory over Florida State and a spot in the title game of the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Championship at the Seminole Softball Complex.
North Carolina (34-29), the defending ACC Champions, will play Georgia Tech at 12 p.m. Sunday. To win the title, the Tar Heels would have to win the noon game then beat Georgia Tech, which has yet to lose a game in the tournament, again at 4:30 p.m.
Fox Sports Net South and the Sunshine Network will televise the championship game at 4:30 p.m. If the first game decides the title, it will air on tape delay. If UNC wins the noon game to force a second game, the 4:30 contest would air live. Comcast will air a tape of the championship game at 7 p.m. Sunday.
The Yellow Jackets (48-16) advanced to the title game by defeating Florida State for the first time in an ACC Championship, 2-0, on Saturday. The Seminoles (49-17) failed to reach the title game for the first time since the league began the event in 1992.
Ramsey's blast off Florida State ace Leslie Malerich (29-12) was her third home run of the season. The game-winner also made up for her error that allowed the Seminoles to score two runs in the top of the first inning. Quinn Porter started the Tar Heel seventh with a single to left and Natalie Anter drew a walk before Ramsey's dramatic ending on a 2-1 pitch.
Jessica van der Linden started the game for the Seminoles and went five innings. She gave up five hits, four walks and struck out three. Shannon Walsh improved to 14-15 this season for North Carolina. She went the distance holding the Seminoles to just three hits and no earned runs.
Malerich relieved van der Linden to start the sixth and quickly got herself into a jam. With one out, she gave up back-to-back singles to Brandi Griffin and Dionne Streete. She retired the side by getting Tiffany Tolleson to ground into a fielder's choice and Rosie Gustavson to pop up to short.
Florida State had an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the seventh. Elisa Velasco started the inning with a walk. With Malerich at the plate, Velasco advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches. After Malerich walked, Walsh got the Tar Heels out of the inning by retiring the next three Seminoles on pop-ups.
North Carolina tied the contest against van der Linden in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Griffin singled to second. She would score when the next batter, Streete, smacked a 2-2 pitch to right center for a triple. Streete scored when Tolleson grounded into a fielder's choice.
"We were definitely on a mission today," UNC coach Donna Papa said after the win over FSU. "They got out to an early lead, but our team was determined and would not give up. I'm truly proud of them. Kelly's hit was awesome, and the win was a total team effort."
Live statistics and recaps of all the games at the 2002 ACC Softball Championship are available at www.theACC.com.
