University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
Heels Win ACC Opener, Move Streak To 18 Straight
March 17, 2007 | Softball
March 17, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- A two-RBI day from Joslin Higgins and another stifling performance in the circle from Lisa Norris propelled North Carolina to a 3-1 victory in its first Atlantic Coast Conference game of the season Saturday at Anderson Stadium. With the win, the Tar Heels (25-8, 1-0 ACC) pushed their school-record winning streak to 18 consecutive games.
Norris picked up the win for Carolina, making her 15-6 on the year and running her personal win streak to 11 straight decisions. She held Virginia (8-17, 0-1 ACC) to just two hits and one run in going the distance, yielding just one hit over the final six frames. Breanna Brown, Anna Evans and Higgins all went 2-3 in the game to pace the UNC offense.
Virginia got on the board in the top of the first, striking quickly for a 1-0 lead. Kelly Haller supplied all the offense for Virginia in the frame, sending a two-out shot to straightaway center to put the Heels in an early hole.
The deficit didn't last long, though, as North Carolina clawed back for a run in the bottom of the second to tie the game. Joslin Higgins collected an RBI single to score Anna Evans, who got on with a base hit of her own, and the score was 1-1.
Evans added an RBI double in the fourth, scoring pinch-runner Christine Knauer, and Higgins used the same formula she did in the second to push the lead to two, knocking in Evans to garner her second RBI of the afternoon. That pushed the score to 3-1 in favor of the Tar Heels as the game entered the fifth.
Norris shut the Cavaliers down from there. The Cavaliers managed only two baserunners in the final three innings as Norris secured the win.
The Tar Heels and Cavaliers will meet Sunday for a doubleheader to conclude the series. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m., and that game will be available online via ACC select. Game two will start approximately 30 minutes after game one finishes.
