North Carolina
East Carolina
Softball Seniors Lead UNC To Key Wins
May 3, 2000 | Softball
May 3, 2000
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-The University of North Carolina softball team started Wednesday afternoon's doubleheader by celebrating its seniors-Crystal Henderson and Jen Klesaris-and ended up celebrating because of them. After claiming the first game 2-0, UNC won the second 4-3 after Klesaris' triple to left center scored Henderson from first in the bottom of the seventh. "That could have been my last at bat and I wanted to make it a good one," Klesaris said. "I saw the ball get through and I knew Crystal would score."
With the wins, Carolina finished the regular season 47-17, setting a team record for most victories in a season. (Previously, the team's best record since the program went to fastpitch play in 1984 was 45-18 in 1992.) The Tar Heels now wait to find out whether they'll receive the Southern Atlantic Softball Alliance's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. UNC is 8-2 in SASA play and Florida State is 6-2 with a doubleheader at Maryland on Thursday. If the Lady Seminoles win both of those games to tie UNC at 8-2, FSU will win the tie breaker based on having beaten Carolina twice in head-to-head competition. If FSU fails to win both games against the Terrapins, UNC will receive the bid and the first NCAA trip in the history of the Carolina program. "There's nothing we can do now but wait and see what happens," Tar Heel coach Donna Papa said after the ECU game. "We've done all we can and it's out of our hands."
Wednesday's wins, on Senior Day at Finley Field, were the Tar Heels' third and fourth of the season against ECU, now 54-16. In game 1, junior shortstop Michelle Semmes went 3-for-3 with an RBI double that scored Klesaris in the fifth inning. UNC got on the board in the second inning, when pinch runner Sarah Young scored on right fielder Quinn Porter's single. Junior pitcher Radara McHugh scattered four hits to earn the UNC win, her 23rd of the year and her 16th shutout. Senior Denise Reagan took the loss for ECU to fall to 23-7.
In the second game, ECU scored three runs in the third inning on a two-RBI double by junior second baseman Keisha Shepperson and a sacrifice fly by senior center fielder Amekea McDougald. UNC tied the game up with a three-run sixth. Klesaris and Semmes reached on singles and scored on sophomore catcher Natalie Anter's double. Freshman Lauren Parker, pinch running for Anter, scored on an ECU error.
Junior Erin Joseph, who had relieved McHugh in the fifth, sat down the first three Pirate batters in the seventh before Carolina returned to the plate and scored the winning run on the heroics of its seniors. "These games were huge for us, and to win them the way we did, with our two seniors being so instrumental, was awesome," Papa said. "It was like a storybook ending."
Game 1
North Carolina 2, East Carolina 0
ECU 000 000 0--0 4 3
UNC 010 010 X--2 5 1
Winning pitcher: Radara McHugh (23-6), Losing pitcher: Denise Reagan (23-7)
2B: Michelle Semmes (UNC), Eva Herron (ECU)
Game 2
North Carolina 4, East Carolina 3
ECU 003 000 0--3 2 2
UNC 000 003 1--4 8 2
Winning pitcher: Erin Joseph (10-6), Losing pitcher: Denise Reagan (23-8)
2B: Natalie Anter (UNC), Keisha Shepperson (ECU) 3B: Jen Klesaris (UNC)
