University of North Carolina Athletics
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NC State
No. 15 Tar Heels Sweep Wolfpack
April 19, 2008 | Softball
April 19, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The 15th-ranked North Carolina (44-8-1, 15-1 ACC) softball put an end to one streak and kept another one going on Saturday as the Tar Heels posted a pair of 1-0 wins against rival NC State (27-22, 8-9) before a record-setting crowd of 1,251 at Anderson Stadium. The Wolfpack had claimed the previous nine meetings between the teams before Danielle Spaulding tossed her fifth shutout of the year in game one and drove in the game's lone run with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth. Lisa Norris extended Carolina's ACC winning streak to 15 games by tossing a one-hit shutout in the 1-0 game two win.
Spaulding got the ball for Carolina in the circle in the opener and delivered her fifth shutout of the year to propel the Tar Heels to the 1-0 win. Spualding struck out a pair in the first and was able to get out of trouble in the second with two more strikeouts. Carolina nearly got on the board in the second as Emily Troup led off the inning with a single through the right side and eventually moved to third but was unable to score. The Wolfpack nearly pushed a run across in the top of the third as a leadoff walk and a stolen base put Shanna Smith in scoring position with nobody out. Spaulding was able to strike out the next batter for the first out of the inning before Alyssa Allbritten laced a single to center that dropped down in front of Breanna Brown. The junior center fielder came up firing and cut down Smith at the plate to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
The Tar Heel offense was kept in check after the second as they were only able to put two runners on in the third through fifth innings, with both coming in the fifth. Alyssa Francona was hit by a pitch with one out before Breanna Brown drew a two out walk, but the pair was stranded ending the late game threat. Spaulding took the game into her hand's in the bottom of the sixth with the game still tied at 0-0 when she connected on her ninth home run of the year. Spaulding's blast sailed over the right center field fence and immediately put a charge into the Tar Heel dugout. Spaulding strolled out to the circle for the top of the seventh and set the Wolfpack down 1-2-3 with a pair of groundouts and a fly ball to left field to secure the victory.
Lisa Norris was just as impressive in game two allowing just three runners the entire ball game. Carolina opened the game with a Brown single and a walk to Cassie Palmer before three consecutive outs ended the inning. The third inning saw Carolina move a runner to third as Palmer lined a double into the left center field gap and advanced the next 60 feet on a fly ball to left field off the bat of Danielle Spaulding. Another fly out would keep Palmer on third and zeros on the board.
It would not stay that way for long, however, as Emily Troup lined a double to left center to lead off the fourth before being replaced on the bases by Anna Roberts. A sacrifice bunt off the bat of Alyssa Francona moved Roberts to third with just one out. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for the top of the order, but a shallow fly ball to left field kept Roberts at third and put another out on the board. Needing just one out to get out of the jam NC State's Alyssa Allbritten was unable to control a Mendy McKenzie pitch and Roberts sprinted home to score the game's only run on a passed ball.
The Wolfpack tried to get the run back in the very next inning as they put the lead off runner on with a walk. Back-to-back fielder's choices that cut the lead runner down at second put a damper on NC State's comeback effort before Norris picked up another strike out to end the inning. Norris would turn it up a notch after the fifth as she set the final six batters she faced down in order to improve to 16-3 on the year and lower her ERA to a paltry 0.86 on the year.
An Anderson Stadium record crowd of 1,251 people took in the doubleheader on Saturday and saw Carolina continue its impressive 15-game ACC winning streak. The 15 ACC wins is the most in school history, shattering the 13-7 mark set in 2007. North Carolina will look for its fifth ACC series sweep in a row on Sunday as the Tar Heels and Wolfpack do battle at 1 p.m.
