University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Stays Unbeaten In Fall Play
October 7, 2006 | Softball
Oct. 7, 2006
CHAPEL HILL - The North Carolina softball team opened up play Saturday at the Carolina Fall Classic at Anderson Stadium, squaring off against East Carolina and UNC-Pembroke in the first two games of the tournament. The Tar Heels battled the Pirates to a 2-2 tie in the first game before exploding for 15 hits in a 14-1 rout of the Braves in game two to move their fall record to 3-0-1.
Carolina was the first team to get on the board in game one, scratching the scoresheet in the third inning with two runs. Sophomore Whitney Allen started the offense for the Tar Heels, drawing a leadoff walk and eventually coming around to score when the East Carolina shortstop couldn't handle a ball off the bat of sophomore Breanna Brown. Brown, who stole second and then took third on a throwing error by the Pirate catcher, scored on senior Anna Evans' RBI single.
ECU struck back with a run in both the fourth and sixth innings to tie the score. After a scoreless seventh, the game ended in a tie to facilitate the rest of the tournament's schedule.
Sophomore Lisa Norris pitched five innings for the Tar Heels, giving up one run on four hits while striking out five. Freshman Danielle Spaulding came on to pitch the final two innings for Carolina.
Game two was a different story for the Heels offensively as the bats came alive to light up the scoreboard. The Tar Heels, playing as visitors, put up three runs in the top of the second and tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Following UNC-Pembroke's lone run in the bottom of the fifth, Carolina broke the game open with a seven-hit, nine-run sixth inning, highlighted by a mammoth three-run home run off the scoreboard by sophomore Lisa Norris that capped the scoring. A scoreless bottom of the sixth brought the game to a close.
Sophomore pitcher Amber Johnson had a near-flawless outing in the circle for North Carolina, going 4 1/3 with seven strikeouts while yielding just one hit and no runs. Again, freshman Danielle Spaulding came on in relief to close out the game for the Tar Heels.
Carolina's busy weekend continues tomorrow with two games in Raleigh, N.C., as part of the Wolfpack Invitational. Those games will conclude the 2006 fall season for the Tar Heels.
