University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Tennessee
Heels Take No. 2 Lady Vols Extra Innings, Fall 2-1
February 10, 2007 | Softball
Feb. 10, 2007
Box Score
| Tournament Gallery 
CHAPEL HILL --- Anderson Stadium was packed to the gills, and spectators lined the fences of Williams Field to watch the University of North Carolina softball team square off against the No. 2 Tennessee Lady Volunteers in the Carolina Classic Saturday afternoon. Everyone in attendance was treated to a fantastic pitching duel as All-America Monica Abbott and UNC's Lisa Norris locked horns in a hard-fought battle that eventually tipped Tennessee's way, as the Lady Vols won 2-1 in eight-innings behind Abbott's 17th career no-hitter.
For five innings, neither the Lady Vols (3-0) nor the Tar Heels (1-1) could manage to crack the scoring column, owing to two dominant performances in the circle. Norris limited Tennessee to one hit in each of the first four innings and never let the Lady Vol offense get fully untracked. Tennessee did put eight runners on base in the first five innings but left them all there as the Tar Heels' feisty defense and Norris' timely pitching were up to the task.
Meanwhile, Abbott struck out the side the first three innings and did not allow a baserunner until shortstop Anna Evans reached on a Tennessee error in the fourth.
Tennessee third baseman Jennifer Griffin finally broke through for the Lady Vols in the top of the sixth inning, jacking a solo home run over the centerfield fence to give Tennessee a 1-0 lead. The home run was her second this year.
But Carolina fought right back to answer in the bottom half thanks in large part to the speed and baserunning of leftfielder Ashley Oxendine. Oxendine initially reached on an error and advanced to second before taking third on a Cassie Palmer groundout. Then, in one of Abbott's rare miscues on the day, Oxendine raced home to tie the game on a wild pitch.
A scoreless seventh brought on the implementation of the international tiebreaker rule for the eighth inning, which puts a runner on second base at the start of each team's at-bat.
Tennessee capitalized immediately, with Liane Horiuchi advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt to start the inning and later coming home on an error by Evans. Norris quickly closed out the inning, but the Lady Vols entered the bottom of the eighth ahead 2-1.
With Whitney Gelin starting on second, the Tar Heels attempted their second comeback of the game. But, as she had all day, Abbott continued to masterfully foil UNC's best efforts, striking out two and forcing a fly out to end the game. The record-setting senior finished with 19 strikeouts against zero walks and yielded no hits and just one unearned run in eight innings, adding another remarkable performance to her portfolio.
Norris' line was impressive in its own right as the sophomore pitcher gave up just one earned run and scattered eight hits in eight innings. She also struck out six Lady Vols.
Carolina wraps up its play in the Carolina Classic with two games Sunday. The Tar Heels face Ohio at 12:30 p.m. and then turn around to play Penn State at 2:30. Admission to Anderson Stadium is free.
