University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Seton Hall
UNC Loses Another Extra-Inning Marathon With Cox on the Mound, 1-0 to Seton Hall
May 21, 2004 | Softball
May 21, 2004
Waco, Texas - The North Carolina softball team recieved another brilliant performance from sophomore pitcher Crystal Cox, but couldn't get a run across the board as they lost to Seton Hall 1-0 in 12 innings. The loss ends UNC's season as they are eliminated from tourney play. Cox, coming off 16-innings of work on Thursday in their 1-0 loss to Baylor, pitched all 12 innings for UNC, not allowing a run until the final inning. UNC ends their season at 44-22 and 1-2 in NCAA Regional play.
Senior Natashalyn Snipes and freshman Marissa May each went 3-6 and seniors Dionne Streete and Jessica Graziano had two hits to lead UNC. The Tar Heels got 12 hits, but no runs in the game.
Cox carried Carolina multiple extra innings for the second time in the tournament. For the week Cox pitched 27 2/3 innings in to games, allowing just 11 hits and two runs and struck out 19 batters. Against Seton Hall, she allowed just two infield singles and one bloop single to left in the first ten innings.
Seton Hall won the game in the bottom of the 12th when Caitlin White hit a single to the left side scoring Mary Carroll Smith.
oth team's pitchers cruised through the first two innings, as Cox didn't allow a hit and Seton Hall's Megan Meyer allowed just one hit and no runs. In the top of the third, Carolina's Natashalyn Snipes hit a single to right field with two outs and then Marissa May followed with a bunt single. Snipes advanced to third on the play, but May got the third out trying to advance to second on the throw to third.
Seton Hall followed in the bottom of the third with a baserunning blunder of its own. With runners on second and third and one out, the Pirates tried a suicide squeeze play, but the batter missed the bunt attempt allowing UNC catcher Theresa Nicholas to tag out the runner. Cox forced the batter into a pop out on the next pitch to end the inning.
The pitching dominance continued through the fifth inning, but in the top of the sixth, Carolina tried to mount a rally. May got her third hit of the game with one out in the inning and then Dionne Streete followed with a single up the middle to advance May to second. Emily Price couldn't advance the runners as she struck out, but Jessica Graziano followed with a two-out hit to load the bases for Jessica Young. Young hit a deep fly ball, but the Seton Hall centerfielder was able to get to it to end the inning.
Seton Hall couldn't hit Cox, as she carried a one-hit shutout through seven innings, but the Tar Heels couldn't put a run on the board despite seven hits through seven innings.
In the bottom of the eighth, Seton Hall threatened but couldn't put a runner across home plate. Lindsay Trottier led off with a base hit and then moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt. With one out Caitlin White singled, moving the runner to third and then White advanced to second on the throw.
With runners on second and third and one out, Seton Hall's Meg Berry hit a groundball to UNC second baseman Anna Evans who threw a dart to home plate to nab the runner for the second out. Carolina ended the inning on the next batter as she grounded out to Joslin Higgins.
Carolina's next good chance to score came in the top of the 11th. Streete got a one-out single and Price followed with a single through the middle infield to put runners on first and second with one out. The next two Carolina batters couldn't come through with a hit though as Meyer kept her shutout going.
