University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
UNC Sweeps Virginia As Brown Breaks Home Run Record
March 29, 2015 | Softball
Chapel Hill, N.C. – It was a good time to be around Anderson Stadium on Sunday afternoon, as the North Carolina softball team (24-9, 9-2) completed the sweep of ACC opponent Virginia and Kristen Brown hit her 17th long ball of the year, breaking the school record for home runs in a single-season.
Coming into this weekend on a four game losing streak, Head Coach Donna J. Papa knew how important this series was for her team.
“Our goal is to win the ACC regular season and we kind of stubbed our toe at Louisville and so every game from here on out is really important”, said Papa. “Every game is really important so to be able to sweep a series is huge. “
UVA came out aggressive early, taking a 3-0 lead through 1.5 innings before Carolina was able to put two runs on the board in the bottom of the second after pitcher Andie Formby walked Kati Causey with the bases loaded and Kristen Brown lofted a single to left field for an RBI.
The Cavaliers added another run in the top of the third, but the Carolina bats that had been so explosive on Saturday erupted again in the bottom of the inning.
Tracy Chandless started it off with an RBI double down the left field line. Later on Formby would walk Taylor Wike with the bases loaded to tie the game and Brown added a second RBI on a sacrifice fly. Formby walked in two more runs before Allison Miller replaced her in the circle. The first batter she faced was Lauren Walker, who singled up the middle for another two UNC runs, making it 9-4 after three innings.
With two outs and Wike on first in the bottom of the fourth, Kristen Brown stepped to the plate and blasted her record-breaking home run. The junior shortstop leads the nation in homers, having hit 13 in her last 15 games.
Freshman Sydney Matzko picked up the win in the circle for the Tar Heels, throwing 3.2 innings while striking out four batters and allowing only one Virginia run.
Amber Parrish ended the game in the fifth with a walk-off solo shot over the wall in left center, giving UNC the 12-4 run-rule win.
The Tar Heels will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to the University of Georgia.
