University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Louisville
Carolina Splits ACC Doubleheader With Louisville
March 21, 2015 | Softball
Louisville, KY – Coach Donna J. Papa's squad opened this weekend's ACC softball series with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader against the Louisville Cardinals.
North Carolina took game one 4-2 before falling 9-2 in game two.
Game One
The Tar Heels (21-6, 6-1) got on the board in the top of the first when Amber Parrish doubled down the left field line to score Taylor Wike from third.
This week's ACC Player of the Week, Kristen Brown would continue her hot streak as she blasted a two-run home run in the third to make it a three run Carolina lead.
Louisville would shrink that lead down to two after Kelsi Jones doubled to right field in the bottom of the third, scoring Nicole Pufahl all the way from first base.
Kendra Lynch's single in the fifth brought the lead back to three. Brown started off the inning by beating out the throw from short for an infield single. She took third base after a passed ball four on a Jenna Kelly walk to set up Lynch's RBI single.
The Cardinals refused to go away though. Whitney Arion would single to centerfield with one out and advanced to third after Aquilla Mateen misplayed the ball. Alison Szydlowski would single up the middle to bring her home and stay within striking distance of the Tar Heels.
Kaylee Carlson picked up the win for UNC, throwing all seven innings. The freshman fanned three Cardinal batters, walking four and giving up seven hits.
Louisville made one last run in the seventh. Ashley Nikolao pinch-hit for a leadoff double and the Cardinals would eventually load the bases with two outs. Jordan McNary would hit a high grounder to Carlson in the circle who flipped the ball to Parrish at home to end the game.
Game Two
The Cardinals came out fast and furious in game two.
Louisville put up eight runs on eight hits through the first three innings behind home runs from Kelsi Jones and Brittany Sims
Carolina hit the ball well throughout the game, tallying 11 hits to Louisville's 12, but could not convert base runners into runs.
Kendra Lynch got UNC on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth with a two run blast for her ninth home run of the season.
The Cardinals added another run in the fifth to make the score 9-2.
Sydney Matzko started the game for the Tar Heels, pitching 1.2 innings while allowing five hits and six runs before being replaced with Lauren Fuller. Fuller would pitch the next 3.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits. Kendra Lynch took to the circle in the bottom of sixth, giving up one hit.
The two teams will square off tomorrow at noon for the deciding game of the series.
