University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Boston College
No. 16 Carolina Takes Two From Boston College
April 5, 2008 | Softball
April 5, 2008
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
BOSTON -
Lisa Norris picked up her third no-hitter of the year Saturday at Boston College (20-19, 2-6 ACC)as she helped No. 16 Carolina (35-7-1, 9-1 ACC) lead the Tar Heels to a doubleheader sweep of the Eagles, 4-0 and 6-2. Danielle Spaulding picked up the win in the circle in game two as she struck out eight in her seven innings of work to improve to 11-1. The Tar Heels and Eagles will close out the series on Sunday with a game at noon.Lisa Norris was nearly flawless in game one as she tossed her third no-hitter of the year while striking out 10 batters in the 4-0 decision. Norris allowed just four runners on the day two by way of Carolina errors and another pair by walk. Boston College moved just two of the runners into scoring position on the day but did not allow either Eagle to reach third on the day en route to improving her record to 12-3 on the year.
Carolina let a good opportunity to get on the board early slip away in the top of the second when Whitney Allen and Lisa Norris tallied back-to-back singles with one out. Ashley Oxendine came on to pitch run for Allen looking to score the game's opening run. A strikeout put two outs on the board for Brittany McKinney who hit a single to shortstop but BC was able to cut down Oxendine when she overran third base and was thrown out in the rundown. Breanna Brown led off the third with a double down the left field line and moved to third when Cassie Palmer grounded out to the right side putting Brown 60 feet closer to scoring. Jen Jacobs would follow with an RBI single that dropped in front of a diving leftfielder to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 advantage.
rown put the Tar Heels up 3-0 in the top of the fifth when she connected on her third home run of the year. Brittany McKinney led off the inning by reaching via a Boston College error before being replaced by pinch runner Dani Manko who proceeded to steal second base. Brown then connected on a blast that sailed over the center field fence to add to the Carolina lead. The inning would not end there as Danielle Spaulding singled through the right side allowing Jennifer Jacobs to score as she avoided the tag to put Carolina up for good at 4-0.
It took an inning to get the bats going for Carolina in game two as starting pitcher Danielle Spaulding led off the inning with a single back up the middle before being replaced by Dani Manko on the bases. Whitney Allen would follow by drawing a walk before Emily Troup stepped into the box. The Placentia, Calif. native delivered with a double just out of reach of the diving center fielder to score Manko. A groundout to third would keep the pinch runner Christine Knauer at third for the first out of the inning before a walk loaded the bases for freshman Bree Ensminger. The freshman backstop hit a ball to the first baseman that allowed the second run of the inning to score. Cassie Palmer led off the third inning with a single off the outfield wall before she swiped her second base in as many games to put herself in scoring position for Spaulding. The sophomore delivered with a double down the right field line to give herself a 3-0 lead.
Emily Troup would add to that total in the top of the sixth when she connected on her third home run of the year an opposite field long ball down the left field line. The Tar Heels would tack on another run in the sixth to take a 5-0 lead to the bottom half. Jennifer Jacobs would be replaced by Stephanie Murad in the top of the seventh but Murad would be hit by a pitch forcing Jacobs to reenter the game on the base paths. Boston College pitcher Savanna Lloyd would be called for back-to-back illegal pitches to move Jacobs to third before a wild pitch made the score 6-0.
Spaulding was nearly as dominant in game two as Norris was in game one as it took more than five innings for the Eagles to get a hit on the board. The Fontana, Calif. native struck out eight batters in her seven innings of work while allowing just four hits in the game. Spaulding would face the minimum in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings as she improved to 11-1 on the year.
The Tar Heels and Eagles will close out the series on Sunday with a single game at noon.
