University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
East Carolina
No. 16 Tar Heels Split Against Pirates
April 2, 2008 | Softball
April 2, 2008
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The No. 16 North Carolina softball team dropped its first game in a month when the Tar Heels split a midweek doubleheader with visiting East Carolina on Wednesday. Carolina (33-7-1) took the opener 3-1 before East Carolina (25-16) ended the Tar Heels' 19-game winning streak with a 3-2 win. Carolina will look to bounce back and extend its ACC lead with a three-game series at Boston College.
Amber Johnson opened the game in impressive fashion for Carolina as she set the first three batters she faced all down on strikes. Breanna Brown kept the hot start going when she led off the bottom of the first inning with a blast to center field for her second home run in as many games. Brown's solo shot was the first leadoff home run for the Tar Heels this season. The Pirates would even the score at 1-1 in the top of the fourth with a home run of their own. An East Carolina error and a pair of walks would load the bases in the bottom half of the fourth but Carolina was unable to push across the go ahead run.
The Tar Heel bats would come to life in the bottom of the fifth when Cassie Palmer led off with a walk before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jennifer Jacobs. A strikeout would put two outs on the board for Whitney Allen. The Tar Heel leftfielder delivered her fifth double of the season as she drove in Palmer to give Carolina a 2-1 lead. Brittany McKinney would keep the hit parade going when she laced a double off the right field wall to score Allen and put Carolina up for good at 3-1. Johnson picked up her eighth win of the season in the process and the Tar Heels extended their winning streak to 19.
Carolina found itself in a very early hole in game two when the Pirates connected on a two-run home run to take the early lead in the top of the first. The Tar Heels cut into the lead in the bottom half of the first when Jennifer Jacobs singled to center field to score Breanna Brown who led off with another hit, this time a single. Alyssa Francona evened the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the second when she sent a pitch over the right center field fence. Francona became the fifth Tar Heel of the year with four home runs with the blast for Carolina's ACC-leading 35th home run of the year.
East Carolina would answer in the top of the third when the Pirates tallied three consecutive singles to push across the go ahead and eventual game winning run. The Tar Heels appeared to be making a push to even the game in the bottom of the sixth when Lisa Norris got things going with a single through the right side. Dani Manko came on to run for Norris and moved to second on a single by Whitney Allen. Francona, the hot-hitter of the evening, laced a single back up the middle that Manko had to avoid of being hit by before she could race around third in hopes of tying the game. East Carolina's Christina Merrida came up throwing from centerfield and cut down Manko at the plate to keep the score at 3-2. Carolina would be unable to push across the game-tying run as the Tar Heels fell for the first time since March 2 against Illinois State.
The 19-game winning streak ranks as the second-best in school history and is the second time in as many years that the Tar Heels have posted a winning streak of 19 or more. Carolina will look to bounce back this weekend when they travel to Boston to take on Boston College in a three-game series. The Tar Heels lead the ACC with a 7-1 overall mark.
