University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia Tech
No. 14 Tar Heels Drop Opening Game Of Series At Virginia Tech
April 26, 2008 | Softball
April 26, 2008
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The No. 14 North Carolina softball team dropped the opening game of its weekend series at No. 18 Virginia Tech on Saturday as the Hokies prevailed 5-2 in the 10-inning marathon. Beth Walker connected a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to give Virginia Tech the win. The Tar Heels fall to 47-9-1 on the year and 16-2 in the ACC, while Virginia Tech improves to 40-12 overall and 16-3 in conference play. The second game of the doubleheader was suspended due to rain and will be continued at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Tar Heels were leading 2-0 in the sixth inning when play was halted.
Virginia Tech was the first to get on the board in bottom of the third inning as a leadoff walk came back to get Lisa Norris. Following a bunted third strike, Erin Ota laced a double to the left center gap that scored the first run of the game and put the Hokies ahead. Amber Johnson came on to pitch in the fifth inning and picked up two quick outs before a weather delay put a halt to the game for 45 minutes. As the teams retook the field Johnson issued a walk before a stolen base moved the runner to second. A single through the left side pushed another run across to make the game 2-0.
Virginia Tech's Angela Tincher took the circle in the top of the sixth and struck out the first two batters she faced before the second baseman misplayed a ball to keep the inning alive. The Tar Heels would not go quietly in the seventh as Cassie Palmer tallied her 50th career double over the left fielder's head that scored Breanna Brown from first who reached on the error. Danielle Spaulding stepped into the box next and delivered a run-scoring single back up the middle that tied the game at 2-2.
The Hokies put a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the seventh with only one out, but Johnson was able to force a pair of ground outs to end the threat and the inning. Neither team could get anything going until the bottom of the tenth when Virginia Tech put the lead runner on taking advantage of a Tar Heel error. A single put runners on first and second with nobody out. A harmless fly ball to center helped to record the first out of the inning before Walker came up with the clutch hit to end the game and snap Carolina's current 10-game winning streak and 16-game ACC winning streak.
The Tar Heels responded immediately in game two as they scored an early run in the top of the first that knocked Kenzie Roark out of the game after facing just four batters, forcing Tincher back into the game. Brown led off the game with a bunt single to third base before swiping her 14th stolen base of the year. Cassie Palmer followed with a single right back up the middle to plate Brown and give Carolina a 1-0 advantage. A strikeout would put the first out on the board before Jennifer Jacobs singled through the right side to put a pair of runners on base forcing Tincher back into the game. A groundout and a strikeout would end the threat.
Sophomore Danielle Spaulding was dealing in game two as she has struck out eight batters during her five full innings of work so far. Spaulding added an insurance run in the top of the third when Brown led off with another bunt single to third and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Cassie Palmer. Spaulding would follow with a shot back up the middle that nearly hit Tincher in the circle, allowing Brown to cruise in for the second run of the game.
The Hokies loaded the bases in the fourth and looked to cut into the Tar Heel lead. A hit by pitch and a pair of free passes mixed in with a pair of strikeouts loaded the bases for Jessica Everhart. Spaulding made sure that the game kept steady at 2-0 as she tallied her third strikeout of the inning to get out of the jam. Spaulding kept the momentum going into the fifth as she picked up three more strikeouts, all of the looking variety before a thunderstorm moved into the Blacksburg area to postpone the game.
Following a 45 minute delay the teams and umpires agreed to suspend the game and resume it at 1 p.m. on Sunday with the originally scheduled series finale to follow.
