North Carolina
St. John's
No. 25 Carolina Rolls Past St. John's, 6-0
March 11, 2006 | Softball
March 11, 2006
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --- Freshman pitcher Amber Johnson tossed a complete-game shutout to lead the No. 25 North Carolina softball team past St. John's in the final pool play game of the FSU Invitational, 6-0, Saturday morning at Messer Park. With the win, Carolina (17-5) claims the top seed out of Pool B, setting up a 6 p.m. game with Tulsa, the No. 2 seed from Pool C.
Carolina opened the scoring in the bottom of the first after sophomore second baseman Cassie Palmer reached on a leadoff walk. After advancing to second on an Ashley Oxendine sacrifice, Palmer scored on an RBI double by sophomore Casey Testa.
The Tar Heels added three more in the third to take control of the game. Palmer was once again the catalyst, leading off with a double to left center. She would come around to score on Oxendine's RBI single thanks to a nifty hook slide to avoid the tag at home. Sophomore Jennifer Jacobs was then hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Two batters later, junior shortstop Anna Evans ripped a solid single to plate Oxendine. After a walk and a foul out, junior catcher Whitney Gelin came up with a two-out single to score Jacobs, making it 4-0.
UNC added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth thanks to a St. John's error and a Lisa Norris double. Evans led off the frame by reaching on a fielding miscue by Tami Hill. Junior third baseman Joslin Higgins added a one-out single to put two runners on for Norris. The freshman dropped a double into the gap in right center to score Evans and Higgins and give Carolina its winning margin of 6-0.
Johnson (5-0) battled through an inconsistent outing, scattering seven hits over seven innings and striking out seven. The win was her second career complete-game shutout.
Carolina will play Tulsa at 6 p.m. at JoAnne Graf Field on the campus of Florida State.
