Tar Heels Complete Sweep of Carolina Classic

Sunday, February 26

Chapel Hill, N.C.

1:00 PM

North Carolina

10-4

Marshall

9-4

Marshall

North Carolina

Nine-Run Fourth Leads Carolina To 10-1 Victory In Finale

February 27, 2017 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Marshall Box Score Hampton Box Score

By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina softball completed the sweep of the annual Carolina Classic on Sunday, defeating Marshall, 8-3, and Hampton, 8-2, to close out a perfect 4-0 weekend at Anderson Stadium.The twin bill sweep increases Carolina's (10-4) win streak to six straight and 10 of the last 11.

The Tar Heels hit six home runs on the final day of the tournament, with two each by Taylor Wike, Katie Bailiff and Kendra Lynch. The Heels hit .377 with a .754 slugging percentage over the doubleheader to secure the Carolina Classic title.

Senior pitcher Kendra Lynch was named the Most Valuable Player of the Carolina Classic, after turning in spectacular performances in the circle and at the plate. The Indianapolis native hit .571 with eight hits, two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs, slugging 1.143 at the plate. In the circle, she went 2-0 with a 1.43 ERA over 14.2 innings pitched, including 7.2 shutout innings against Towson on Friday night.

Brittany Pickett and Leah Murray joined Lynch on the all-tournament team after contributing greatly at the plate all weekend. Pickett led all batters with a .615 average on the weekend, collecting eight hits, three doubles and five RBIs with an .846 slugging percentage. Murray also had eight hits, batting .471 with a triple, a tournament-high six runs scored and four stolen bases.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Marshall	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	3	6	4
North Carolina	1	0	1	1	5	0	-	8	11	1

North Carolina belted five home runs, including two each by Taylor Wike and Katie Bailiff to defeat Marshall (9-4), 8-3, in the Heels' first game of the day. It marked the first time since March 28, 2015, when Carolina launched a school-record seven home runs vs. Virginia, that two Tar Heels went deep twice in the same game.

The reigning ACC Player of the Week, Bailiff went 4-for-4 with a double and two solo home runs. Wike hit a solo homer and a two-run shot in four at-bats, and Kendra Lynch cracked a two-run homer as part of a three-homer inning. Bailiff's performance was a personal best for hits, home runs and total bases, while Wike hit two homers in a game for the third time in her career.

Leah Murray went 2-for-4 with two runs scored at the top of the lineup, while Brittany Pickett was 2-for-2 with a walk.

Lynch (4-1) went the distance in the circle, allowing three runs and six hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Jordan Dixon (7-4), who entered the game having not allowed a run over 17.2 innings pitched at the Classic, took the loss after giving up seven runs, six earned, on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts over the first four innings. Kailee Williamson took over in the fifth inning and allowed the final run on three hits and two walks with a strikeout in two innings.

Elicia D'Orazio was the leading batter for Marshall, going 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Wike gave the Tar Heels a quick lead in the bottom of the first with a solo home run to center field.

Murray led off the third with a single to the right side. She advanced to third on a ground out, then trotted for home after a throw down from the catcher ended up in left field.

A leadoff home run by Bailiff in the bottom of the fourth made it 3-0 Carolina.

Marshall cut the lead to one in the top of the fifth, as Elicia D'Orazio beat out an infield single and Morgan Zerkle jacked a two-run shot to center to make it 3-2.

The Heels replied with three homers in the bottom of the fifth, as Wike and Lynch both drilled two-run shots to put UNC ahead, 7-2, and chase Dixon from the circle. Bailiff then cranked the first pitch that came across the plate to center for her second long ball of the game. A single and two errors loaded the bases with two outs, but Wiliamson got Wike to ground out to finish the inning and keep Carolina from entering run-rule territory.

Jordan Colliflower singled up the middle to lead off the seventh. A pair of ground outs moved her to third with two outs. D'Orazio hit one nearly up the middle that Shifflett could only knock down with a backhanded stab but the speedy D'Orazio would have beaten the throw anyway, as Colliflower came around to score. Lynch then struck out Zerkle for the final out to complete the 8-3 victory.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Hampton	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	3	3
North Carolina	0	1	3	0	1	3	-	8	12	1

Carolina scored early and often to cruise to an 8-2 victory over Hampton (2-10) and close out a perfect weekend at the Carolina Classic. Leah Murray, Kendra Lynch, Brittany Pickett and Katelyn Shifflett all had two hits in the game, while Lynch and Taylor Wike had three RBIs apiece. Four different Tar Heels had a stolen base in the game, with two by Destiny DeBerry and one each by Murray and pinch runners Brittany West and Micaela Abbatine.

Hannah Nommensen (2-0) picked up her second victory in as many days, limiting the Lady Pirates to a single earned run on just three hits and four walks over five innings. Brittany Pickett and Kellyn Daly pitched the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, and each allowed just a walk and two strikeouts without surrendering a hit or a run.

Allyson Babinsack (1-7) pitched the full six innings for Hampton, allowing eight runs, six earned, on 12 hits and a walk with two stirikeouts.

Lynch put Carolina on the board in the bottom of the second with a leadoff home run—her second of the day.

The Tar Heels scored three runs in the bottom of the third off three hits and three stolen bases. DeBerry singled and stole second to lead off the inning. Murray hit an RBI single then stole second as well. Lynch picked up an RBI with a ground out, then Pickett clocked her second double of the day to send pinch runner Brittany West home and make it 4-0.

An RBI double by Morgan Crawford put Hampton on the board in the top of the fourth, and a throwing error by Erin Sugg after a wild pitch allowed Crawford to score an unearned run, cutting UNC's lead in half, 4-2.

Carolina got one back in the bottom of the fifth, as Murray led off with a triple to right center and Wike drove her in with a sacrifice squeeze.

The Tar Heels added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth off five singles. Shifflett kicked it off with a leadoff single, then Hailey Jensen picked up her first career base hit as a pinch hitter. Wike drove in two with a single up the middle and Lynch added an RBI single to increase the lead to 8-2 heading into the final inning.

Kellyn Daly took over in the circle for the seventh inning and after issuing a leadoff walk, she retired three straight, including a pair of strikeouts, to seal up a clean sweep of the Carolina Classic.

After 10 straight games at home, the Tar Heels hit the road on Wednesday, March 1, for a midweek clash with East Carolina at 5 p.m. The game will be streamed live on Pirates All-Access at ECUPirates.com.