University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
College of Charleston
No. 23 Carolina Sweeps Charleston
March 29, 2006 | Softball
March 29, 2006
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. --- No. 23 North Carolina had to go to extra innings twice Wednesday but left with a sweep of the College of Charleston, 2-1 and 4-3. Senior pitcher Crystal Cox picked up her seventh straight win in the opener, and sophomore second baseman Cassie Palmer had a pair of game-winning hits to lead the Tar Heels.
Game one was a pitching duel between Cox (14-5) and Charleston's Amber Havnar (9-9) that saw neither team score until extra innings. Carolina (30-10) threatened only once in the first seven innings, but junior Marissa May was stranded on second after sophomore Casey Testa's one-out double in the fourth.
The Cougars (18-19) had a pair of good chances in the fourth and sixth but were unable to capitalize. Two singles and an error put runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth, but Cox induced a groundout to escape that jam. Then in the sixth, CofC put two on with none out before Cox retired three straight to strand the runners.
Carolina finally broke the scoreless tie in the eighth, courtesy of Palmer's sixth home run of the year. The blast scored junior catcher Theresa Nicholas, who was placed on second in accordance with the international tiebreaker rules, and gave the Tar Heels a 2-0 lead.
But Charleston showed life in the bottom of the eighth. After a sacrifice moved Amber Shifflett to third, Jayme Durand singled her home to cut the Carolina lead to one. Jennifer Golden then singled and took second on the throw, giving the Cougars runners on second and third with two outs. But as she had done all day, Cox wriggled out of trouble, getting back-to-back pop-ups to end the game.
UNC wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in game two, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Palmer led off with a single and advanced to second on sophomore Ashley Oxendine's sacrifice bunt. Testa then singled to left, scoring Palmer and putting the Tar Heels on the board.
The bats in both dugouts would fall silent until the fourth, when Charleston took its first lead of the day. Durand reached on a one-out walk and Golden connected for a two-run home run to left off Carolina starter Amber Johnson, giving the Cougars a 2-1 lead.
Charleston starter Shannon Howard would dominate the middle innings to maintain the lead. Howard retired 16 of 18 batters from the first inning until the top of the seventh, when junior Joslin Higgins came to bat to lead off the frame. Higgins' solo home run down the left field line tied the game at 2-all and would eventually force extra innings.
Just as in game one, Palmer struck quickly in the eighth. After freshman Breanna Brown was placed on second, Palmer doubled to left center to break the tie. She then advanced to third on another Oxendine sacrifice and scored on Testa's RBI double.
Cox would enter the game in the bottom of the eighth in relief of freshman Lisa Norris. She allowed just a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly before a groundout to second ended the game, giving Cox her first save of the season. Norris (10-3) allowed one hit over 2.2 innings to pick up the win in relief.
Carolina returns to action this weekend against conference rival Virginia. The Tar Heels and Cavaliers will meet Saturday at 1 p.m. for a doubleheader and will complete the series Sunday afternoon at 1.
