University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia Tech
No. 23 Carolina Drops Two In Battle Of ACC Leaders
April 14, 2007 | Softball
April 14, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- North Carolina centerfielder Breanna Brown matched a single-game school record with five hits in a marathon 12-inning tilt in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday at Anderson Stadium, but Virginia Tech pitcher Angela Tincher was the star of the day in picking up two victories, pitching all 19 innings of play and collecting an astounding 33 strikeouts overall. In a game featuring the first- and second-place teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings entering the day, the No. 23-ranked Tar Heels (40-12, 10-4 ACC) fell 2-0 in game one and then dropped the nightcap 3-1 when the Hokies (36-12, 11-3 ACC) finally broke through in the 12th.
Tincher threw a total of 298 pitches on the day as she carried the load for Virginia Tech, who now assumes first place in the league race.
Game one featured a scintillating faceoff between the ACC's two winningest pitchers - and two of the top-five winningest pitchers in all of Division I softball this season - in Virginia Tech's Angela Tincher and Carolina's Lisa Norris.
Norris picked up two strikeouts in retiring the Hokie side in order in the first, setting the tone early for the pitching duel. Tincher started a bit more slowly as the Tar Heels used two walks and a Casey Testa single to load the bases with one out in their half of the first, but the Virginia Tech pitcher answered with back-to-back strikeouts to close the door on the Heels' threat.
The Hokies scratched first in the top of the second off of Stephanie Savre's fifth home run of the year, a solo shot to right field to lead off the inning. That was all Virginia Tech could manage against Norris in the frame, though, and the game went to the bottom half with UNC trailing 1-0.
Carolina threatened again in the bottom of the third, putting two on with two out. Tincher was up to the challenge, though, striking out Anna Evans to escape the inning unscathed.
Virginia Tech held its 1-0 lead until the top of the fifth when the Hokies again used a solo home run - this time a two-out Charisse Mariconda round-tripper to left field - to pad their advantage. That made the score 2-0 Virginia Tech, and put Carolina in need of a late-inning rally.
The Tar Heels almost got it with two out in the bottom of the sixth as Emily Troup struck out but reached first on a passed ball and Whitney Allen followed with the singles to once again give UNC multiple baserunners. Tincher dug deep to strike out Cassie Palmer, though - her fourth strikeout of the inning.
Amber Johnson came on in relief of Norris to pitch a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, and Carolina was down to its last at-bat. Tincher prevented any drama in the last frame, setting the Tar Heels down in order to collect her 26th win. She pitched all seven innings in throwing her 18th complete game shutout of the season, picking up 12 strikeouts and giving up just four hits along the way.
Norris gave up just four hits as well and fanned 10 for her own part but ended up with the loss, dropping her record to 23-8.
For the game, UNC just couldn't manage to crack Tincher when it counted, leaving 10 runners on base. It was the first time Carolina had been held scoreless since a 3-0 loss in eight innings against Auburn on Feb. 23 - a span of 38 games.
Carolina wasted no time jumping on Tincher in game two, however, plating a run in the bottom half of the first to end its scoring drought. Casey Testa picked up an RBI on sacrifice fly on the play, hitting a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Cassie Palmer thanks to a gorgeous slide, tying the score at 1-1. Virginia Tech had used three straight hits to lead off the nightcap - and a run-scoring single with one out - to bring home the first run of the game.
That was the end of the offense for quite some time - UNC starter Danielle Spaulding, and later, Amber Johnson in relief combined to shut down Virginia Tech for the remainder of regulation play while on the other side, Tincher quickly regained her form after the first and kept the Tar Heels off the scoreboard as well, sending the game to extra innings.
In fact, neither team could crack the scoring column for another four innings of extra play as Johnson and Tincher locked heads. But in the top of the 12th Virginia Tech scratched for two runs, both coming with two outs as they recorded three hits in the frame to take the critical 3-1 lead.
Brown, who accounted for five of Carolina's seven hits in the game, tied the school record with a two-out base knock in the bottom of the 12th to give UNC some life, but Tincher struck out Testa to end things unceremoniously for the Tar Heels.
The series, weather permitting, will resume tomorrow when the Hokies and Tar Heels face off in a Sunday 1 p.m. matchup.
