University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
East Carolina
Carolina Takes Carolina Classic Title
February 10, 2008 | Softball
Feb. 10, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina softball team posted a 5-2 win against East Carolina in the championship game of the Carolina Classic on Sunday as Emily Troup earned MVP honors with her nine runs scored and seven RBIs during the tournament, including a perfect 4 for 4 day in the championship game. The Tar Heels will travel to UNC Wilmington for a midweek doubleheader on Wednesday before heading to Florida for the Cox Communications Classic next weekend.
Amber Johnson delivered a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first before Troup opened her perfect day with an RBI single to center field as Christine Knauer waltzed home from third before Breanna Brown was cut down at the plate denying Troup a second RBI.
The consistent Tar Heel offense put another run on the board in the bottom of the second taking advantage of a Pirate error. Whitney Allen, with two home runs in the tournament, was pitched around and drew a leadoff walk before being replaced on the base paths by the speedy freshman Dani Manko. A hard fought walk by Brittany McKinney put runners on first and second before Anna Roberts dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the pair up. A walk to Stephanie Murad loaded the bases for Breanna Brown who hit a shot to the shortstop who flipped it to the second baseman for the force but the ball fell out of her glove allowing Manko to score and give Carolina a 2-0 lead.
Troup led off the third with her second hit of the game as she laced a shot up the middle before being pinch ran for by Ashley Oxendine. Danielle Spaulding made sure she was not on the bases long as Spaulding drilled a double to left center to score Oxendine from first.
East Carolina put a two-spot on the board in the top of the fourth with a two-run single off of Johnson, but the junior was able to get out of the jam as she forced a groundout to get out of the inning.
The Tar Heel offense struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Anna Roberts drew a bases loaded walk to plate Troup for her ninth run of the tournament. Whitney Allen then made the score 5-2 as she sprinted home from third on a passed ball to close out the Tar Heel scoring. Johnson allowed just two hits over the final three innings as she earned her second win of the weekend and all-tournament team honors.
Other Tar Heels on the all=tournament team included 2B Cassie Palmer, P Lisa Norris, OF Whitney Allen and MVP Emily Troup.
The Tar Heels will head down I-40 for a midweek battle with UNC Wilmington Wednesday before heading to Gainesville, Fla. to play five games at the Cox Communications Classic, including a pair against the host No. 13 Florida Gators.
All-Tournament Team
MVP - Emily Troup, North Carolina
Cassie Palmer, North Carolina
Whitney Allen, North Carolina
Lisa Norris, North Carolina
Amber Johnson, North Carolina
Cristen Aona, East Carolina
Erin St. Ledger, East Carolina
Toni Paisley, East Carolina
Jessica Carmichael, Kent State
Jackie Yaniga, George Washington
Box Score
East Carolina 2 (4-2)Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Sumner rf................ 3 1 2 0 0 1 2 1 0 Merrida cf............... 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 Johnson 1b............... 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 0 St. Ledger 2b............ 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 2 0 Aona 3b.................. 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 Gallagher pr............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moreno c................. 3 0 1 2 0 1 5 0 1 Jimenez dp............... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 Tom ss................... 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 Barrella ph............. 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Baggett ph.............. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Andrews lf............... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Nolan ph................ 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Swann p.................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Howell p................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Paisley p............... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Totals................... 26 2 5 2 1 8 18 9 4
North Carolina 5 (5-0)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Christine Knauer ss...... 2 1 1 0 1 0 2 1 2 Stephanie Murad ph...... 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Breanna Brown cf......... 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cassie Palmer 2b......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 3 Emily Troup dp........... 4 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 Ashley Oxendine pr...... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Danielle Spaulding 1b.... 4 0 1 1 0 2 8 1 2 Whitney Allen lf......... 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 Dani Manko pr........... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brittany McKinney c...... 2 0 1 0 1 0 8 0 0 Bree Ensminger pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Anna Roberts rf.......... 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 Alyssa Francona 3b....... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Brittany Robinson ph/3b. 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 Amber Johnson p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals................... 24 5 10 3 6 4 21 6 9
Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- East Carolina....... 000 200 0 - 2 5 1 North Carolina...... 111 020 X - 5 10 0 -----------------------------------------
E - St. Ledger. DP - E. Carolina 2. LOB - E. Carolina 4; N. Carolina 9. 2B - Aona; E. Troup; D. Spaulding. SH - C. Palmer; A. Roberts. SB - C. Knauer; A. Oxendine.
East Carolina IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Swann............... 3.0 6 3 2 4 2 12 18 73 Howell.............. 1.1 3 2 2 1 1 6 7 25 Paisley............. 1.2 1 0 0 1 1 6 7 22
North Carolina IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Amber Johnson....... 7.0 5 2 2 1 8 26 27 98
Win - A. Johnson (2-0). Loss - Swann (1-1). Save - None. WP - Howell; A. Johnson. PB - Moreno. Inherited runners/scored: Paisley 3/2. Pitches/strikes: Swann 73/36; Howell 25/14; Paisley 22/13; A. Johnson 98/68. Umpires - Start: 12:30 pm Time: 2:01 Attendance: 207
