University of North Carolina Athletics
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North Dakota State
Missed Opportunities Plague Tar Heels In 5-2 Setback
February 14, 2016 | Softball
Austin, Texas – North Dakota State put up three runs over the first two innings and the Tar Heel offense struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, as the Bison took down Carolina, 5-2, at the Texas Classic on Saturday night. The win evens NDSU to 2-2 on the year, while UNC slips to 1-3.
“I thought that we competed well,” said head coach Donna J. Papa. “We hit the ball well, just hit it at people. It's a game of inches. I thought Lauren Fuller had a great day at the plate, she went 3-for-3. I thought Kristen Brown did a great job up at the plate. I thought Syd got stronger as the game went on, but we didn't put the win together.
“We did a lot of good things, but we also made a couple of key mistakes that really hurt us. Especially in the sixth inning, we were only down a run and dropped a fly ball and that really took the momentum the other way. But I really was not upset at how we competed, because I did think we competed well up at the plate. We just made some mistakes at inopportune times that really cost us.”
Carolina senior Lauren Fuller, who entered the season with just five career hits to her name, shined on offense going 3-for-3 with a double. Taylor Wike and Kristen Brown both went 2-for-4, including a solo home run by Brown which moved the senior into second place all time in both career RBIs (153) and total bases (355). Freshman Berlynne Delamora, making her first appearance at third base, drove in the Tar Heels' second run with an RBI single.
The Tar Heels put together 10 hits in the game and had a runner in scoring position in all-but-one inning, but struggled to bring them home, as Carolina went just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Sydney Matzko (0-1) went the distance in the circle for the Tar Heels, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits and three walks with a strikeout. Jacquelyn Sertic (1-0) earned her first win of the year by limiting Carolina to two runs despite also allowing 10 hits.
The Bison got on the board in the bottom of the first when Alyssa Reina hit an RBI single through the left side to drive in Logan Moreland, who had singled and stolen second. Reina attempted to take second on the play, but Destiny DeBerry, in her first start in left field, nabbed her for the final out.
North Dakota State plated two more in the bottom of the second, as pinch hitter Tabby Heinz hit a two-out RBI single with the bases loaded to bring home Bre Beatty and Julia Luciano.
Kristen Brown got one back for the Tar Heels in the top of the fourth, crushing a leadoff solo shot over the scoreboard in center for her 49th career long ball.
The Tar Heels cut the lead to one in the top of the sixth, as Fuller connected for her third hit of the game then Delamora drove in pinch runner Leah Murray with a two-out RBI single to right.
NDSU got the runs back in the bottom of the sixth, taking advantage of a dropped ball in left field to score an unearned run on an RBI single by Beatty. An infield single by Katie Shoultz then reinstated the Bison's three-run lead before Delamora made a pair of outs to end the inning.
Wike hit a leadoff single in the top of the seventh, but she was stranded on third as North Dakota State sealed up the victory, 5-2.
Carolina concludes the Texas Classic on Sunday, Feb. 14, with a neutral site matchup against Arkansas at 10 a.m. ET. The weekend finale will air live on the Longhorn Network.
