University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Winthrop
Carolina Beats Winthrop 4-3 To Advance In NCAA Regional Play
May 18, 2007 | Softball
May 18, 2007
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --- North Carolina squeaked out a tight 4-3 affair against Winthrop in the first game of NCAA Regional action Friday afternoon at Tyson Park to advance to the winner's bracket, where they will face No. 5 national seed and host Tennessee at 1:30 Saturday. The Tar Heels (46-19) received two RBI from Casey Testa and a clutch sixth-inning hit from Anna Roberts as well as solid pitching throughout to defeat the Eagles (48-17).
Winthrop started the game with a bang as Tessa Thomas set the tone with a double to straightaway center to lead things off for the Eagles. A walk to the next batter put two Eagles on with no outs, and Winthrop went on to load the bases with two outs, but solid pitching from UNC starter Lisa Norris subdued the threat without surrendering a run, providing a key lift early for Carolina.
The Tar Heels responded with some offense of their own in the bottom of the first, getting a leadoff single from Cassie Palmer and a walk from Ashley Oxendine to put two runners on base. Casey Testa came through with a big RBI double off the fence in center that scored Palmer and gave UNC a 1-0 lead. Carolina missed a chance to further pad its lead when an attempted suicide squeeze backfired. Anna Evans made a valiant effort to get her bat on the ball and protect Oxendine coming home from third, but the pitch from Winthrop starter Cari Wooldridge was too far outside to make contact and Eagle catcher Jenny Scrymgeour threw to third to catch Oxendine, who just missed scrambling back to the bag in time.
The Eagles struck with a run in the top of the second to even the score at 1-1. Thomas again recorded a hit, this time an RBI single that brought home Sarah Magee to give Winthrop its first run of the game.
Carolina threatened to break the tie in the bottom of the third, putting two baserunners on with two outs, but a hard grounder off the bat of Emily Troup was corralled by the Eagle second baseman who threw to first to end the inning.
It stayed tied until the fifth, when the Tar Heels scored twice to regain the lead. Whitney Gelin reached on an infield single to mount the charge for Carolina, and pinch-runner Christine Knauer was sacrificed to second to put her in scoring position. That's when Oxendine singled up the middle to bring home Knauer and score a run, making the score 2-1. Testa added her second RBI of the game with a solo shot to right field that pushed the score to 3-1 heading into the sixth.
The Eagles again answered back, scoring two runs of their own in the sixth to knot the game 3-3. Two straight doubles to lead off the frame scored one run for Winthrop, and the Eagles again loaded the bases with two outs. This time shortstop Stephanie Reid beat out an Evans throw at first, allowing the tying run to score from third. Norris answered back with a key strikeout, though, limiting the damage to two runs in the inning as Winthrop left its eighth, ninth, and 10th batters on base for the game.
The seesaw affair continued in the Carolina half of the sixth as a walk to Evans and a two-strike single from Jennifer Jacobs set the table for pinch-hitter Anna Roberts. The move paid off in a big way as Roberts lined the second pitch she saw into left field to score Evans, reestablishing the lead for UNC at 4-3. Despite having runners at the corners with no outs, the Tar Heels failed to push another run across and took a one-run lead into the seventh.
Amber Johnson came on in relief of Norris for the seventh, pitching a scoreless inning to pick up her third save of the season. Norris grabbed the win - her 25th of the year - with a six-inning, seven-hit effort. She gave up three earned runs and struck out six Eagle batters as she moved to a tie for third on the school's single-season win list.
