University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Boston College
Late-Inning Heroics Lift Carolina To 25th Straight Win
March 25, 2007 | Softball
March 25, 2007
CHAPEL HILL --- North Carolina staged a game-tying, two-run rally in the seventh inning and added the game-winning tally on a passed ball in the tenth to score perhaps its most dramatic victory of a school-record 25-game winning streak, taking a 3-2 decision over Boston College Sunday afternoon at Anderson Stadium. The win gave UNC (32-8, 6-0 ACC) the series sweep over the Eagles (1-11, 0-3 ACC), the second straight to start Atlantic Coast Conference play for the Tar Heels.
After Carolina's clutch performance in the seventh, the game remained scoreless through two and a half innings of extra play until the decisive play came with two outs in the tenth. Erin Dudley singled to right field with one out to give Carolina a needed baserunner, and Breanna Brown followed with a single to left center one batter later, advancing Dudley to third and setting the stage for the exciting conclusion. With Emily Troup at the plate, Boston College catcher Ashley Obrest let a Britney Thompson pitch scoot past her, and Dudley raced home as Obrest frantically searched for the ball, scoring without a play to give the Tar Heels the 3-2 comeback win.
Offense was lacking in the early part of the game as Thompson for Boston College and Lisa Norris for UNC controlled the action through the first few innings - getting a lot of help from their respective defenses in the process as the two teams combined for some stellar defensive plays all over the field to set the tone for the game. The Eagles twice managed to put a runner on second in the first four frames, but Norris was up to the task each time, getting out of the inning untarnished.
Thompson was similarly effective against the Tar Heels, allowing just a two-out Erin Dudley double in the third inning before back-to-back singles to start the fourth mounted Carolina's first real threat. But a double play initiated by Eagle shortstop Jenna Macchi helped Thompson escape the inning with no damage done.
Norris was forced to work out of trouble as well in the top of the fifth, again proving able. After yielding a leadoff double to start the frame, she induced three straight groundouts to leave a Boston College runner on third and send the game to the sixth scoreless.
The Eagles were the first to crack the scoreboard, finally pushing a run across in the top of the sixth to take a 1-0 lead. A dropped foul ball off the bat of Macchi in left field by yesterday's hero Whitney Allen proved costly in the inning, as Macchi went on to earn a hit and came around to score on a base-knock by Obrest.
UNC made a valiant effort to rally in its half of the sixth but two baserunning blunders cost the Tar Heels dearly as Carolina made two outs at third during the inning. Brown missed a stay sign on her one-out double, getting thrown out on a relay from Macchi, and pinch-runner Ciara Rimoldi, after going from first to third on a Jennifer Jacobs single down the right field line, was thrown out after she took too big of a turn and couldn't get back to the bag in time.
Boston College seized the opportunity to add what looked to be a security run in the top of the seventh as Thompson helped her cause with an RBI double that made the score 2-0 heading into the Tar Heels' last at-bat.
That's when the heroics started for UNC, who rallied for a comeback victory the second straight day. Anna Evans started things off in a big way for Carolina in the bottom of the seventh, sending a shot to straightaway center to put the Heels on the board, jumpstarting the UNC rally and cutting the deficit to one. Allen helped atone for her earlier error as she followed Evans with a big base hit through the left side. A sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch moved pinch-runner Ashley Oxendine to third with just one out. That's when Norris deposited a ball into left field for an RBI-hit, tying the game 2-2. The Tar Heels couldn't add another in the frame and the game went to extra innings, where UNC managed a win for the second time this season.
Norris pitched the entire way for Carolina, taking her record to 19-6 as she yielded just one earned run in 10 innings of work. She struck out seven and gave up 11 Boston College hits.
Brown went 3-for-5 to pace UNC's offensive attack, and Casey Testa and Dudley added two hit apiece as Carolina cranked out 11 hits on the day.
Carolina will play next on Wednesday as Gardner-Webb comes to town for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
