Tar Heels Fall Short in Pitchers’ Duel vs. Ohio State

Friday, May 17

Knoxville, Tenn.

11 AM

North Carolina

35-19

Ohio State

35-16

Ohio State

North Carolina

brittany pickett softball ncaa knoxville regional

Photo by: Randy Sartin

May 17, 2019 | Softball

Box Score Box Score

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Despite eight strikeouts by Brittany Pickett, North Carolina was unable to win the pitchers' duel as Ohio State took the 1-0 win to being the 2019 NCAA Knoxville Regional on Friday afternoon. The Tar Heels will play the loser of Tennessee/Longwood in the Saturday's elimination game at 2:30 p.m.

After trading five scoreless frames, Ohio State scored the lone run of the game in the sixth inning on a squeeze play by Ashley Prange. UNC slides to 35-19 while the Buckeyes improve to 35-16.

Key Moments
» Kristina Burkhardt and Leah Murray tallied hits in the first and third innings, respectively, but the runners were left on base.
» Ohio State responded with a leadoff single by Lilli Piper followed by a walk in the fourth. However, UNC's defense remained strong and stranded the runners.
» Carolina's best threat came in the fifth inning as Zoë Goodman drew a walk that brought in Destiny DeBerry from the flex to run. A sac-bunt by Campbell Hutcherson and wild pitch moved her to third. But, a popup ended the frame to hold the score at zero.
» The Buckeyes jumped on the board with a leadoff double by Bri Betshel and a UNC miscue put runners in scoring position. A sac-bunt by Ashley Prange gave OSU the 1-0 lead.
» Carolina made contact in the final two frames, but Ohio State's one run finalized the score.
» Winning Pitcher: Morgan Ray (18-8) // Losing pitcher: Brittany Pickett (21-13)

Noteworthy
» Pickett has struck out eight or more batters in her last six complete games since April 26 at Louisville.
» Ramsey extended reached-base streak to 11 games.

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