University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
Tar Heels Roll Over Virginia 8-0, Advance In ACC Tournament
May 11, 2007 | Softball
May 11, 2007
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --- Helped by a perfect 7-for-7 effort from the bottom third of the lineup, North Carolina finally found the offense it had been looking for and, aided by a five-run fourth frame, the Tar Heels coasted to an 8-0 run-rule victory over Virginia Friday morning at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament held at JoAnne Graf Field on the campus of Florida State University. With the win, UNC (44-18) advances in the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament to play a 5:30 p.m. contest against the loser of No. 3 seed Georgia Tech and No. 7 seed Boston College, who square off at 12:30 p.m.
In the seven through nine spots, Emily Troup went 3-for-3 with two RBI, Danielle Spaulding matched that line exactly, and Stephanie Murad went 1-for-1 with two runs scored as UNC received tremendous production from the bottom of its lineup. Spaulding was stellar in the circle as well, taking a no-hit bid through 4 1/3 innings in picking up the complete game shutout, her second of the season.
Carolina used a two-run second inning to jump out to the early lead, scoring both runs with two outs to wake up what had been a dormant UNC offense of late. Jennifer Jacobs was the beneficiary of a wild pitch from Virginia starter Whitney Holstun as she reached first after striking out to give UNC its first baserunner in the frame. One out later, Murad followed with a single to third base to put two Tar Heels on board for Troup. A single over the shortstop fell in shallow centerfield to bring pinch-runner Marissa May home for the Tar Heels first run, with Murad advancing to third on the play. Spaulding helped her cause with UNC's second straight single to center, scoring Murad to push Carolina's advantage to two runs.
Two UNC errors allowed Virginia (17-39) to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third inning, but Spaulding and Carolina managed to shut the door on the threat, getting out of the inning without any damage done.
Then, in the top of the fourth, the Tar Heels exploded for five runs on four hits to break the game open. The bottom half of the lineup came up big a second time as Troup and Spaulding again combined for back-to-back RBI hits - this time each recorded a double to score a run - to fuel the big inning. Senior shortstop Anna Evans also picked up a walk in the frame, which gives her 84 walks in her career, tying her for first on UNC's all-time list.
Carolina tacked on a run in the fifth via an Anna Roberts RBI to put the margin at eight, and the game headed to the bottom half with Virginia needing to score to extend the game.
Though Cavalier leftfielder Brooke Sorber broke up the no-hitter with a double that landed just fair down the left field line, Spaulding continued her mastery in the circle to record the final two outs and collect her seventh win of the season. Holstun picked up the loss for Virginia, falling to 6-6.
