University of North Carolina Athletics
Lynch Earns Second ACC Pitcher Of The Week Award
April 11, 2016 | Softball
GREENSBORO – Carolina junior Kendra Lynch was named ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday, marking the second time this season that the Tar Heel hurler has taken home the weekly honor. The award is the fourth for UNC this season, as Berlynne Delamora and Kristen Brown have each earned ACC Player of the Week honors this year.
"Kendra had a great week," said head coach Donna J. Papa. "She pitched with great poise and confidence and made good pitches. She also made some noise at the plate in some big moments."
Lynch appeared in all four games for the Tar Heels, earning two complete-game victories and her first career save. The Indianapolis native posted a 0.98 ERA over 21.1 innings, allowing one earned run or less in all four appearances. The two-time honoree began the week by leading UNC to an extra-innings victory at No. 10 Georgia, allowing just one run over eight innings while giving the Tar Heels an early lead with a solo home run at the plate.
The hurler once again drove in as many runs as she allowed in her start at Boston College in the series opener, going the complete seven innings and allowing just one earned run while going 2-for-3 with a two-run home run.
Lynch followed her two starts with a pair of stellar relief appearances against the Eagles. She picked up her first career save in game two, allowing just one hit and retiring the final eight batters of the game to seal up a 4-3 Tar Heel win with three strikeouts. She then tossed 3.2 hitless innings of relief in the series finale on Sunday.
A starter in the batting lineup, she slugged .900 with two home runs, three walks and three RBIs, driving in as many earned runs as she allowed on the week.
Lynch shares the honor with Virginia Tech senior Maggie Tyler, who earned the award for the third straight week. Tyler put forth a 1.48 ERA over 24.1 innings, including leading the Hokies to a 2-1 victory over No. 6 James Madison to mark the highest-ranked home victory in program history. The senior also tossed a three-hit shutout on Saturday to lead the Hokies to a 4-0 road win over Louisville.
Additionally, the conference selected Florida State catcher Sydney Broderick as its Player of the Week. The junior led the Seminoles to a perfect 4-0 week, batting .545 with six RBIs and a .909 slugging percentage. She tallied two hits and at least one run and RBI in each game of a three-game series against NC State, including driving in runs in three different plate appearances on April 10.
Carolina returns to the field on Tuesday, April 12, with a visit from East Carolina. The Tar Heels will host the Pirates in a nonconference game beginning at 6 p.m.
