University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia Tech
No. 14 Tar Heels Sweep No. 18 Hokies For ACC Regular Season Title
April 27, 2008 | Softball
April 27, 2008
Game Two Box Score | Game Three Box Score
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Needing just six outs to claim the first ACC regular season title in 10 years after rain halted the second game on Saturday the No. 14 Tar Heels (49-9-1, 18-2 ACC) sent sophomore Danielle Spaulding, who struck out eight in five no-hit innings on Saturday, to the circle against No. 18 Virginia Tech (40-14, 16-5 ACC). The Hokies were able to scratch out a single run in the bottom of the seventh but nothing more as Carolina went on to claim a 2-1 win and just their third ACC regular season title in school history. The Tar Heels would go on to capture the series finale with a 2-0 win and set yet another record in the process as Carolina picked up win number 49 on the year, which is a new school single season record.
Spaulding stepped into the circle in the bottom of the sixth and kept her no-hitter alive as she sat the first three batters she faced down in order to put the Tar Heels within three outs of the championship. The bottom of the seventh brought the Hokie crowd back into the game as the first two batters reached base on a walk and a hit by pitch. Spaulding was able to get Jessica Everhart to pop up to centerfielder Breanna Brown to tally the first out of the inning. Whitney Davis finally broke up the no-hitter as she dropped a single into left center to score Misty Hall from second and cut the deficit to just one (2-1). Freshman backstop Bree Ensminger then came up with a huge play as she picked off Beth Walker at second for the second out to completely turn the momentum in the Tar Heels' favor. Spaulding would then do the rest as she caught Caroline Stolle looking for the third and final out. With the win Carolina claimed its third ACC regular season title in school history and first since 1998.
The Tar Heels jumped all over Angela Tincher in the top of the first as Breanna Brown laced a triple to the right center gap to start a very early rally. Cassie Palmer would not leave Brown out on the bases for long as she hit a towering fly ball to left field that drifted into foul territory before it was caught allowing Brown to score from third and give Palmer an RBI. The Tar Heels added another run in the second as Emily Troup led off the inning with a single to center before moving to second on a ground out by Whitney Allen. Alyssa Francona would follow with an RBI single back up the middle to plate Troup and give Spaulding a 2-0 lead to work with.
Coach Donna J. Papa entered the game looking to get all of her pitchers some work and brought Faith Sutton into the game in the third inning and the freshman right-hander allowed just two hits in her two innings of work as she would factor in the decision and earn her fifth save of the year. After a shaky performance on Saturday, junior Lisa Norris bounced back with a dominant three innings on Sunday as she allowed just one base runner, via a walk, while striking out three en route to earning her third save of the year.
With the pair of wins Carolina becomes the first team in ACC history to record 18 ACC wins in a year and also set a new school mark with 49 wins. The Tar Heels will now have a week off for exams before traveling to College Park, Md. for the ACC Tournament set to be held from May 8-11. The Tar Heels will face off against the No. 8 seed on Thursday, May 8 in the opening round.
