University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Michigan State
Tar Heels Falter To No. 25 Michigan State 9-1 At NCAA Region 2
May 15, 2003 | Softball
May 15, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - The University of North Carolina softball team dropped into the elimination bracket this afternoon, falling to No. 3 seed Michigan State 9-0 in five innings at Bulldog Diamond. MSU scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on some poor defense by the Tar Heels for the victory. North Carolina (39-21-1) falls into the elimination bracket and will face the loser of No. 2 seed Georgia and No. 7 seed Long Island.
"Give Michigan State credit, but it's disappointing the way we've played the last three games," said head coach Donna Papa. "Michigan State came out and put the pressure on us early and we didn't respond.
"We did put together three hits in a row in the fifth inning and scored a run, so hopefully that spills over into our next game."
The 25th-ranked Spartans struck first in the bottom of the first inning with two singles and a double. Sandy Lewis singled to left field and Natalie Furrow followed with a single to right center field. After an infield fly, Janette Hurtado doubled into left center to give MSU a 1-0 lead after one.
Michigan State scored six unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and eight runs total to take a 9-0 lead. The Spartans took advantage of two Tar Heel errors and some timely bunting to put Carolina out of reaching distance.
"When it rains it poors," said Jaclyn Holden. "They were tough to play against because they have speed and power. We had one bad innning and could not get out of it."
The Tar Heels did not go away without a fight scoring a run in the fifth inning. Freshman first baseman Jaclyn Holden (Santa Clarita, Calif.) led off the inning with her 26th double of the season to center field. Junior short stop Emily Price (Decatur, Ill.) singled to left field and junior third third baseman Dionne Streete (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) drove in the only run for UNC with a base hit to right center.
UNC scored one run, on three hits and two errors, while MSU scored nine runs, on eight hits and no errors.
UNC freshman pitcher Crystal Cox (Harrisburg, N.C.) suffered her second straight loss, throwing four innings, allowing eight hits, nine runs, three earned runs and struck out one. She falls to 24-12 on the season.
MSU's Jessica Beach (25-9) had a no-hitter for the Spartans heading into the fifth inning, but surrendered three consecutive hits and lost her no-no along with her shutout. Beach struck out four and walked one.
North Carolina will face the loser of No. 2 seed Georgia and No. 7 seed Long Island tomorrow at 10 a.m. PDT. The ninth-ranked Bulldogs and LIU will play at 5:30 p.m. PDT today. The loser of the game tomorrow will be eliminated from the NCAA Regional Tournament.
