University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
UNLV
Carolina Takes Two At Long Beach Invitational
March 9, 2012 | Softball
March 9, 2012
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score | Follow UNC Softball Via Twitter | 2012 Softball Yearbook
LONG BEACH, Calif.-- Lori Spingola pitched a no-hitter as No. 23 North Carolina blanked UNLV, 5-0, Friday morning in the Long Beach Invitational at the Long Beach Softball Complex. Logan Foulks tallied three RBI in the win over the Running Rebels.In the second game of the day, Foulks tallied a career-high five RBI and Ashley Bone pitched six innings of one-run ball to throttle Utah State, 11-2. UNC improves to 17-6 on the year.
GAME ONE
Kelli Wheeler led off the game with a single to right center field and Amy Nece moved her to second base with a sacrifice bunt. Logan Foulks then drove her home with an RBI-double to left field, giving Carolina an early 1-0 lead.
The Tar Heels tacked on four more runs in the top of the second, beginning with a bases-loaded error by UNLV third baseman Samantha Juarez. Nece then notched an RBI-single up the middle, followed by a two-RBI single by Foulks to left field, giving the Tar Heels a 5-0 advantage.
The Rebels had a chance to score in the bottom of the third, placing a runner on third with only one out. But Spingola fielded a grounder off the bat of Paige Emerson to throw out the runner at home and induced a fly out to right field to preserve UNC's 5-0 lead.
Spingola was masterful in the circle, recording the third no-hitter of her Tar Heel career. The sophomore from Atlanta, Ga., struck out 13 of the 24 batters she faced and only walked one Rebel, improving to 11-5 on the year.
GAME TWO
The Aggies placed a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the second inning, as Christine Thomsen led off to left center with a double and moved to third base on a groundout. But USU was unable to bring her home with Bone inducing back-to-back groundouts to get out of the inning.
Carolina grabbed the lead in the top of the third on a three-run bomb to center field by Foulks, to plate Kelli Wheeler and Amy Nece, who reached base on a single and a walk respectively. Dickey then followed with a two-run home run over the right center field fence to give the Tar Heels a 5-0 lead.
Foulks came up big again in the top half of the fourth, ripping a one-out two-RBI single to right center field, increasing the UNC advantage to 7-0. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Utah State's Kassandra Uchida ripped an RBI-single to right field to narrow the deficit to six, 7-1.
The Aggies threatened again in the bottom of the sixth, placing runners on first and second with no outs. Bone countered by getting Hailey Fronton to ground into a double play and then induced another groundout by Lindsey Marquez to wriggle out of the jam and preserve Carolina's six-run lead, 7-1.
UNC tacked on four more runs on five hits in the top of the seventh, beginning with an RBI-single up the middle by Paige Williams. Nece then lined a two-run single to left field. Finally, Amber Parrish pinch hit an RBI-single to the Aggie shortstop, pushing the Tar Heels ahead, 11-1.
Uchida singled through the left side to bring home a run for USU in the bottom of the seventh, trimming the Carolina advantage to nine at 11-2.
Bone (2-0) started in the circle for Carolina, scattering seven hits, one walk and one earned run over six innings of work. The sophomore also notched two strikeouts en route to her second win of the season.
Lauren Walker came in to close out the seventh frame for UNC. The freshman gave up one two hits, one earned run and tallied one strikeout in one inning of work.
Carolina returns to the field Saturday to face tournament host Long Beach State at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT).
