University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Georgia
Carolina Upsets No. 9 Georgia On The Road 15-9
April 2, 2015 | Softball
ATHENS, GA – Behind a stellar offensive performance, the North Carolina softball team (25-9, 9-2) upset no. 9 Georgia 15-9 on the road Wednesday night.
The Tar Heels came out hot as Taylor Wike singled up the middle and Aquilla Mateen laid down a picture-perfect bunt to start the game. After a wild pitch from UGA starter Brittany Gray allowed the runners to advance, Kristen Brown hit a hard grounder to second base and Wike just got under the tag at the plate to give UNC the lead.
Gray would throw another wild pitch that let Mateen score from third and Lauren Walker would lace a double into left field later in the inning to bring in two runs, giving Carolina a 4-0 lead at the end of one.
The Bulldogs would come roaring back in the bottom of the second, putting up seven runs on five hits. Anna Swafford's grand slam with two outs gave UGA a 7-4 lead.
North Carolina's bats stayed active though, quickly tying the game in the top of the third. Darby Rosen knocked an RBI single through the right side and Kati Causey picked up an RBI after Gray walked her with the bases loaded.
The Tar Heels took the lead again in the fourth, putting up five runs on three hits, including a two-run bomb by Lauren Walker. Walker finished the day 3-5 with four RBIs.
Errors in the field would haunt the Bulldogs all night as they allowed six unearned UNC runs to cross home plate.
UGA staged a rally in the bottom of the sixth, tallying four hits in the inning and adding two runs to make it 14-9.
But UNC shut the door in the seventh, as Kendra Lynch's double off the wall in centerfield, scoring Mateen all the way from first base. At the end of the game, Carolina had tallied 18 hits to go along with 10 RBIs.
Kaylee Carlson picked up the win in the circle, throwing all seven innings. The freshman showed great poise against the highly-ranked competition, working her way out of tough situations and keeping her composure. The hurler registered four strikeouts while allowing 10 hits.
The Tar Heels will be back in action this weekend when they travel to Central New York for an ACC series against Syracuse.
