University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia Tech
No. 13 Carolina Sweeps Twinbill From Virginia Tech
April 18, 2009 | Softball
April 18, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Starting pitchers Danielle Spaulding and Lisa Norris allowed just three hits Saturday afternoon as No. 13 Carolina cruised to a pair of ACC wins over visiting Virginia Tech, 8-0 in five innings in game one before taking game two, 5-0. The wins improved Carolina's overall record to 41-7 on the year and 14-2 in ACC play as the Tar Heels extended their season-long win streak to 20 games and reached the 40-win plateau for the fourth-consecutive season. The Tar Heels and Hokies (19-21, 7-7 ACC) will meet again at 1 p.m. on Sunday as the five Tar Heels seniors will be honored beforehand.
The Tar Heel offense struck for three runs in the bottom of the first as they jumped out to the early 3-0 lead on the back of an RBI single by Whitney Allen and a two-run single by Ally Blake that nearly cleared the fence in dead centerfield.
Danielle Spaulding helped out her own cause in the bottom of the second when she followed Breanna Brown's one-out double with her ninth home run of the season a blast to center that cleared the fence by at least 30 feet making the score 5-0. A scoreless third was quickly answered by the Tar Heels with a two-spot in the fourth as Brown and Spaulding each tallied RBI hits to make the score 7-0.
Spaulding cruised through the Hokie lineup the first time through the order racking up six strikeouts before the ACC's leading hitter, Jenna Rhodes, beat out an infield single. A fly out to right field would neutralize Rhodes in the third as Spaulding would retire five of the next six batters she would face, three via strikeout. The junior came up to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth and delivered the eighth and final run with a single through the left side that scored Alyssa Francona to give Carolina the 8-0, run-rule win.
Lisa Norris took to the circle in game two and picked up where Spaulding left off keeping Virginia Tech in check before Rhodes beat out another infield single following a one-out walk in the third. A foul out would end the threat and put Carolina at the plate with the score knotted at 0-0.
Christine Knauer led off the third with one of her three singles in the game before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Breanna Brown. Whitney Allen came to the plate with two down in the inning and drove in Knauer with an RBI single to left field that put Carolina in front 1-0.
Norris retired the side in order in both the fourth and fifth innings before picking up some more help from her offense in the bottom of the fifth. Knauer started things off once again by beating out an infield single and then forced a tough play at second on a groundball by Brown. Knauer slid into second as the ball was being grabbed by Kristen Froehlich who came off the bag early allowing both runners to be safe. Spaulding then laid down her first sacrifice bunt of the season moving the speedsters into scoring position for Allen who drew an unintentional, intentional walk to load the bases for Emily Troup. The senior hit a sharp grounder to the shortstop to drive in Knauer and bump the Carolina lead to 2-0.
Another walk was issued to Brittany McKinney to reload the bases for freshman Ally Blake who continued her hot streak by lacing a ball to right center for a two-run double and a 4-0 UNC lead. Spaulding would drive in her fifth run of the day in the bottom of the sixth on a ground out to provide the final 5-0 margin.
With the wins Norris improved her record to 20-4, the second 20-win season of her career, while Spaulding notched her single season career-best 18th win of the season. The pair of shutouts marked the first time since Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2005 that the Hokies had been shutout in a league doubleheader.
Carolina will honor its five seniors, Whitney Allen, Breanna Brown, Alyssa Francona, Lisa Norris and Emily Troup before the Hokies and Heels match up in the series finale at 1 p.m. at Anderson Stadium.
