University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
North Dakota State
Tar Heels Split On Day One At Texas Classic
February 12, 2016 | Softball
Austin, Texas – Carolina softball came out strong on opening day, cruising to a 9-0 victory over North Dakota State behind a one-hit shutout by junior Kendra Lynch. The Tar Heels had the lead for the majority of game two as well, but Texas came back to tie the score in the fifth then handed UNC its first loss in the bottom of the eighth, 6-5.
Sophomore Taylor Wike led the Tar Heels at the plate with four hits, three runs and four RBIs on the day, going a triple shy of the cycle against Texas. Kristen Brown extended her lead in the record book with her 48th career home run in game two, a three-run shot in the second inning. Lynch did not allow an earned run over nine innings pitched, but finished the day with a 1-1 record.
Nearly every member of the Tar Heel roster made an appearance on opening day, including all five of the team's freshmen, with starts by Leah Murray, Katie Bailiff and Kiana Sherlund.
“I think they pretty much had good poise for the day,” said head coach Donna J. Papa of the freshman class. “I think we put Berlynne in a really tough situation and she wound up having to swing the bat. But I thought they all performed pretty well, and I think it's good for us that they got in. Hopefully they won't be as nervous going forwards, because now they're not really freshmen anymore, they've got some game experience.”
Game 1: Lynch Hurls One-Hit Gem In Season Opener
Junior Kendra Lynch opened the season with a career performance, tossing a one-hit shutout to lead Carolina to a 9-0 victory in six innings. The cleanup hitter collected more hits than she allowed, joining seniors Aquilla Mateen and Kristen Brown with two hits apiece. Taylor Wike drove in a team-high three runs, including a two-RBI double, and Tracy Chandless and Leah Murray both had two-run singles. Every Tar Heel in the lineup posted at least one hit or run as nine different Tar Heels crossed the plate on a total of 12 base hits.
“I thought (Kenrda) did great,” said Papa. “I think it was really important for the team and for her especially, because she hasn't been in that role over the past two years, as far as being a starting pitcher and going the complete game. She just had a great outing and that really set the tone for us.
“Certainly the way we hit the ball, I felt like we did a great job with that. We had a lot of energy going into the first game, and we did a lot of really good things offensively. We made the defensive plays we needed to and Kendra shut down some good hitters.”
Lynch (1-0) struck out a career-high seven batters, allowing just one hit and two walks in her second career complete-game shutout. Kaitlyn Leddy (0-2) took her second loss of the day in the complete-game performance, allowing 12 hits but just one walk and three earned runs, striking out two.
“North Dakota State has a good team,” Papa continued. “They've been in Regionals, they were in the top 25 last year. They have a good team. They didn't really run on us. I thought Katie Bailiff did a great job, she got a runner going to second. It was a great performance for being her first game behind the plate.”
Mateen collected the first Tar Heel hit of the season with a slap single in the top of the first. She stole second but was stranded on third for a scoreless first frame.
The Tar Heels took advantage of a Bison miscue to crack the scoreboard in the top of the second. Chandless reached as the leadoff batter on an error by the shortstop. After a sacrifice bunt and a hit batter, Dani Garcielita chopped one up the middle, and despite a great grab by the second baseman, the left fielder hustled to beat the throw to first to drive in pinch runner Destiny DeBerry for the first Tar Heel run of the season. Wike then made it a two-out rally, finding the gap in left center for a two-run double to make it 3-0 Carolina.
UNC came out swinging again in the third, as Brown beat out a single to deep short and Lynch walked to get a pair of runners on base with no outs. Murray then ripped a two-run single off the pitcher's outstretched glove to increase the Tar Heels' lead to five.
North Dakota State replied with its first hit of the game to lead off the bottom of the third, but Katie Bailiff gunned down Jenna Isbel stealing second to end the frame.
The Tar Heels put the game out of reach in the top of the sixth, once again taking advantage of Bison mistakes to plate four unearned runs, all with two outs. Bailiff got it started with a single up the middle, and pinch runner Erin Satterfield swiped second on the first pitch. Garcielita moved her to third and Wike collected her third RBI of the game with a sac fly to right. Mateen then slapped a hard-hit ball at the third baseman who bobbled it then overthrew the base as Mateen sprinted all the way around to third. Brown made the Bison pay with an RBI double down the left field line, and Lynch followed with a single up the middle. Chandless reentered to drive in two on a single to shallow right, making it 9-0 and giving Carolina a chance to finish the game in six.
Lynch shored up her second career shutout with a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the sixth, striking out Logan Moreland for the final out of the game.
Game 2: Longhorns Walk Off With Win In Extras
Two early home runs put Carolina in front for the majority of game two, but Texas tied the score in the bottom of the fifth and won it extras with a bases-loaded walk to the game, 6-5, in eight innings.
Taylor Wike was a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with a single, a double, a home run, a walk, three runs scored and an RBI. All-time home run leader Kristen Brown hit her first long ball of the season with a three-run shot in the second, and Dani Garcielita doubled in the sixth.
“Taylor's very capable of that,” said Papa. “I think Kristen's big home run—they're two of the people that we're going to be looking for to set the tone. Taylor up at the beginning of the lineup and then KB in the middle. I thought they did a really nice job. The first few innings we did some good things. Texas made some mistakes. But in the later innings, we did not make a good adjustment to the pitcher they brought in. She had a good back door curve and spin on the ball, and we hit a lot of balls in the air. That's something we really haven't done a lot of, even in practice or in the fall. I feel like we were reaching for the ball a little bit, so that was disappointing.
“But we definitely had a lot of opportunities, they had opportunities. We got out of jams, they got out of jams. So it was really an exciting game for the fans. I think for the first two games, playing back-to-back like that, we saw a lot of what our team can do.”
Wike led off the game with a home run to right field. Carolina proceeded to load the bases with one out, but the Longhorn defense kept UNC from doing any further damage.
Texas tied the score in the bottom of the first with back-to-back doubles by Stephanie Wong and Lindsey Stephens.
“Downtown” Kristen Brown put the Tar Heels back on top in the second, clocking a three-run shot to left with two outs to bring home Wike and Rosen, lifting UNC to a 4-1 lead.
The Longhorns pushed back in the bottom of the second to load the bases with one out. Wong worked a four-pitch walk to bring home Erin Shireman, but Sydney Matzko drew a pair of ground outs to escape with the lead intact at 4-2.
Wike connected for her third hit of the game in the top of the fourth, doubling to center field with one out. After pitching around Brown, Paige von Sprecken left the circle in favor of sophomore Kristen Clark. Clark drew a sky-high pop up from Lynch to shallow left center. Wong made the call but couldn't come up with it, allowing Wike to score. However, the leftfielder recovered in time to fire home and catch Brown at the plate to end the inning with the Carolina lead at 5-2.
Texas tied the score with a three spot in the bottom of fifth. Mickenzi Krpec began the scoring with a pinch hit RBI double down the right field line, driving in Taylor McAllister. Lynch took over in the circle with runners in scoring position but allowed a two-run single to Christina Bardwell to knot the score at five.
Garcielita doubled with one out in the top of the sixth, but that was the final scoring threat for the Tar Heels, and after Lynch struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh, the game headed to extra innings.
Operating with international tiebreaker rules, Kiana Sherlund was placed on second to begin the eighth. Pinch hitter Berlynne Delamora hit a comebacker to the pitcher allowing Texas to get the lead runner, and Rosen then grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Devon Tunning popped up the bunt to begin the bottom of the eighth, but a passed ball allowed tiebreak runner Kelli Hanzel to take third with one out. Carolina pitched around the next two batters to create a force play at home, but Celina Felix worked a full count walk to bring in the winning run, as Texas came back to take the contest, 6-5.
“I was pleased overall,” said Papa. “You never like to lose, but we learned some lessons. We made some key mistakes in the eighth inning. But again it's a learning opportunity so hopefully that won't happen again in that situation.”
Matzko got the start for the Tar Heels but allowed five runs on six hits and five walks over the first four-and-a-third innings. Lynch entered with runners on second and third in the bottom of the fifth. The game one starter allowed both inherited runners to score to tie the game at five, but did not surrender a run of her own until the final pitch of the game, allowing an unearned run on just one hit and four walks with four strikeouts over the final three innings, taking the loss.
Paige von Sprecken started in the circle for Texas, allowing all five runs, only one earned, on five hits and three walks over 3.2 innings. Kristen Clark followed with 3.1 shutout innings, allowing a hit and a walk, then Tiarra Davis (2-0) picked up the win by facing just two batters in a perfect top of the eighth.
Carolina returns to Red & Charline McCombs Field on Saturday, Feb. 13, for a rematch with both of Friday's opponents. The Tar Heels seek revenge against the Longhorns at 2 p.m. ET, then face NDSU at 7 p.m. ET. Both games will air live on the Longhorn Network.
Junior Kendra Lynch opened the 2016 season with a career performance, tossing a one-hit shutout to lead Carolina to a 9-0 victory in six innings. The cleanup hitter collected more hits than she allowed, joining seniors Aquilla Mateen and Kristen Brown with two hits apiece. Taylor Wike drove in a team-high three runs, including a two-RBI double, and Tracy Chandless and Leah Murray both had two-run singles. Every Tar Heel in the lineup posted at least one hit or run as nine different Tar Heels crossed the plate on a total of 12 base hits.
Lynch (1-0) struck out a career-high seven batters, allowing just one hit and two walks in her second career complete-game shutout. Kaitlyn Leddy (0-2) took her second loss of the day in the complete-game performance, allowing 12 hits but just one walk and three earned runs, striking out two.
Mateen collected the first Tar Heel hit of the season with a slap single in the top of the first. She stole second but was stranded on third for a scoreless first frame.
The Tar Heels took advantage of a Bison miscue to crack the scoreboard in the top of the second. Chandless reached as the leadoff batter on an error by the shortstop. After a sacrifice bunt and a hit batter, Dani Garcielita chopped one up the middle, and despite a great grab by the second baseman, the left fielder hustled to beat the throw to first to drive in pinch runner Destiny DeBerry for the first Tar Heel run of the season. Wike then made it a two-out rally, finding the gap in left center for a two-run double to make it 3-0 Carolina.
UNC came out swinging again in the third, as Brown beat out a single to deep short and Lynch walked to get a pair of runners on base with no outs. Murray then ripped a two-run single off the pitcher's outstretched glove to increase the Tar Heels' lead to five.
North Dakota State replied with its first hit of the game to lead off the bottom of the third, but Katie Bailiff gunned down Jenna Isbel stealing second to end the frame.
The Tar Heels put the game out of reach in the top of the sixth, once again taking advantage of Bison mistakes to plate four unearned runs, all with two outs. Bailiff got it started with a single up the middle, and pinch runner Erin Satterfield swiped second on the first pitch. Garcielita moved her to third and Wike collected her third RBI of the game with a sac fly to right. Mateen then slapped a hard-hit ball at the third baseman who bobbled it then overthrew the base as Mateen sprinted all the way around to third. Brown made the Bison pay with an RBI double down the left field line, and Lynch followed with a single up the middle. Chandless reentered to drive in two on a single to shallow right, making it 9-0 and giving Carolina a chance to finish the game in six.
Lynch shored up her second career shutout with a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the sixth, striking out Logan Moreland for the final out of the game.
Carolina continues the Texas Classic at 7:05 p.m. ET with its first matchup against host Texas.
