15 Hits Power Tar Heels over Winthrop, 10-4

Wednesday, March 28

Rock Hill, S.C.

6 PM

North Carolina

17-16

Winthrop

13-14

North Carolina

Winthrop

March 28, 2018 | Softball

Box Score Photo Gallery

ROCK HILL, S.C. – With 15 hits on the day and five multi-hit at-bats, Carolina topped Winthrop, 10-4 on Wednesday evening in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The Tar Heels outhit the Eagles, 15-6 in the win to improve to 17-16 on the year.

Leah Murray and Taylor Wike each had three hits while Kristina Burkhardt, Katie Bailiff and Destiny DeBerry slugged two each. Logging her first home run of the season, Bailiff led Carolina's offense with three RBI while Wike and Burkhardt each plated two runs.

"We had a great day offensively and were aggressive on the bases," head coach Donna J. Papa said. "We've been really working hard with off-speed pitches and trying to attack better pitches during our at-bats. It was exciting to be able to put a lot of runs on the board and maximize the offense."

The Tar Heels took the lead from the start off a two-run home run by Bailiff. Bailiff's first gone ball of the season plated Burkhardt who singled to right and stole second in the frame.

The Eagles started out strong, loading the bases in the first. The Tar Heels' starter Hannah Nommensen faced four batters before Brittany Pickett entered in a bases-loaded, one-out jam. However, a double play by Katelyn Shifflett, Bailiff and Sierra Parkinson got the runners out at home and first to escape the inning.

"One of the turnaround points in the game was Brittany coming in with bases loaded and getting that double-play," Papa said. "She came in and locked it down to give us momentum moving forward."

Carolina tacked on a third run as Parkinson plated DeBerry who singled and stole second to lead off the frame.

The Tar Heels continued in the third, plating two runs on three hits. Murray mirrored DeBerry's at-bat before RBI-singles by Wike and Bailiff upped the score to 5-0.

Winthrop strung a trio of singles together in the third by Ashley Westbrooks, Morgan Lowers and Blake Wallert. Keleigh Romine sent a two-run double to center, cutting the Eagles' deficit to three.

Carolina answered back, scoring three runs on five hits in the fifth. Wike doubled to left-center to score Murray before Zoë Goodman sent an RBI-single to center, bringing Burkhardt home. DeBerry finalized Carolina's scoring in the frame with a one-run single to left that brought home Bailiff.

The Tar Heels added two runs in the sixth on a trio of hits. Berlynne Delamora nearly homered to lead off the sixth but the ball bounced back in play for a single. Then Murray singled before Burkhardt slugged her second triple of the season to right, upping the score to 10-4 to finalize the win.

Both the Tar Heels and Eagles were retired in order in the seventh, clinching Pickett's 15th win of the season while Kiley Majette took the loss in 2.1 innings as the Eagles fall to 13-14 on the season.

Carolina heads to Virginia for the second consecutive ACC road series. The Tar Heels and Cavaliers are slated for one game Friday at 6 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.

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