University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Elon
Tar Heels Beat Elon and James Madison on first day of Triangle Classic
February 13, 2004 | Softball
Feb. 13, 2004
Elon, N.C. - The North Carolina softball team swept its first two games of the 2004 Triangle Classic on Friday, defeating Elon 4-1 and James Madison 4-0. UNC sophomore pitcher Crystal Cox pitched a one-hit shutout against James Madison and pitched 3 innings of shutout relief against Elon to get the wins in both games.
The Tar Heels, coming off a doubleheader loss to South Carolina on Feb. 8, got back on the winning track with a win over Elon in the first game. Sophomore Alison Yin combined with Cox to hold the Phoenix to one run on five hits. UNC trailed 1-0 in the fifth inning when senior shortstop Emily Price scored to tie the game off a bunt single from freshman third baseman Joslin Higgins.
Carolina took over the game in the sixth inning, as they put three runs on the board to make it 4-1. sophomore second baseman Megan Welch led off the inning with a walk and then promptly stole second base. Freshman outfielder Anna Evans followed with an infield single and senior first baseman Dionne Streete drove in Evans with single to right field. Senior infielder Jessica Graziano struck the biggest blow to Elon with a two-run single, scoring Evans and Streete to make it 4-1.
Against James Madison, North Carolina jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after an flyout by Price drove in Dionne Streete. The Tar Heels added to their lead in the third inning, as Price struck again, this time slugging a solo home run over the center field fence to make it 2-0. UNC completed their run production in the fifth inning as Graziano had a one-run double and then eventually advancing to home after Higgins stole second base.
Cox was the dominating factor in he game though for the Tar Heels. She struck out nine batters to go along with her one hit allowed and one walk in seven innings of work. It was Cox's second complete game of the season and improved her record to 2-1.
North Carolina will try to keep the momentum moving forward as they face the winner of the Radford-UNC-Wilmington game tomorrow. The game will be played at 1 p.m. on field 2 of the Walnut Creek complex in Raleigh, N.C.
