University of North Carolina Athletics
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Campbell
No. 22 Carolina Softball Splits Doubleheader With Campbell
March 31, 2010 | Softball
March 31, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- No. 22 (26-11) North Carolina Softball splits a mid-week doubleheader with (15-19-1) Campbell at Anderson Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. Carolina dropped the first game against the Camels, 6-4, but responded with a 5-2 victory in the second game. Sophomore Kelli Wheeler hit two home runs in the early game and Constance Orr pitched seven strong innings during game two to earn her first win of the season.
Game 1
Danielle Spaulding (9-2) received the start for the Tar Heels. The defending two-time ACC Player of the Year lasted only 2.2 innings as she continues to return from a hand injury which has plagued her the past two weeks.
In the first inning Carolina jumped to an early lead over the Camels by putting three runs on the board. After Tisha Mahon and Ally Blake reached base, Wheeler brought them all in on a home run to center field. The homer gave Carolina an early 3-0 lead.
In the third inning Campbell responded with a three run inning of their own to tie the score at 3-3. With two outs and runners on first and second base the Tar Heels brought in senior (16-9) Amber Johnson in relief of Spaulding. Campbell added three runs in the inning on two hits to tie the score at 3-3.
In the bottom half of the frame Kelli Wheeler hit her second home run of the game and gave Carolina the lead at 4-3. The Marietta Ga. product leads the team with nine home runs this season. The two-homer game is Wheeler's second consecutive multi-home run game after crushing two against South Carolina yesterday in the Tar Heels' 17-7 win.
In Wheeler's last 15 games she has been on torrid pace batting at a .375 clip with eight home runs and 18 RBIs.
In each of the next three innings Campbell added a run and gave the Camels a 6-4 lead over Carolina entering the bottom of the sixth. Carolina almost broke through when freshman Haleigh Dickey started the inning with a single through the left side. The Tar Heels could not manage to find any timely hits and left the frame still trailing by two runs.
After a scoreless seventh inning from both teams Campbell claims a 6-4 victory over Carolina. The victory is the first for Campbell over the Tar Heels since a 7-6 win in the 1995 Tar Heel Invitational.
"We hit the ball hard during the game, but Campbell just made some nice defensive plays," said Head Coach Donna Papa about the game. "There were multiple times that we had the bases loaded and hit the ball to third base. That doesn't help a team very much."
Game 2
Sophomore (1-0) Constance Orr received the start, her first of the year, for Carolina in the second game against Campbell. Orr scattered 13 hits during the game, but managed to only allow two runs and gained her first win of the season.
"We needed Constance to step up today with Spaulding still being hurt and Amber tired from the extra work. I thought that she did a fantastic job out there tonight," Papa said about her sophomore hurler. "I'm really proud of her effort and intensity. She really came up big for us tonight."
In the top half of the first inning Campbell plated two runs on four hits. Lauren Stephan scored a runner on a single to right field and Taylor McGee scored on a throwing mistake as the Camels mounted an early 2-0 lead.
In the bottom half of the opening frame Carolina scored a run of its own when Dani Manko, who had doubled down the left field line to reach base, scored from third base on an illegal pitch.
After three scoreless innings Carolina added a run in the home part of the fifth inning to tie the score at 2-2. On a 3-1 pitch sophomore Ally Blake hit her fifth home run of the season to left-center and gave Carolina the lead, 3-2.
With the score tied, 2-2, North Carolina grabbed the lead with a three run outburst in the sixth inning. The inning started with Brittany McKinney hitting a towering shot down the left field line for a home run. The next three batters: Dickey, senior Stephanie Murad and Orr, all singled to load the bases. An Anna Roberts' sacrifice fly ball resulted in an error by the Campbell right fielder and scored Dickey. Another Camel error later in the inning, this time by the second baseman on a Dani Manko grounder, caused Carolina to add another run to extend the lead 5-2.
In the top of the seventh, the Camels, in a comeback bid with one out, loaded the bases before Orr retired the next two batters to give the Tar Heels a 5-2 victory.
The win brings Carolina's record up to 26-12 on the season and 13-5 in home games.
Carolina travels to Charlottesville, Va. on Friday to play a three-game weekend series against the University of Virginia Cavaliers. Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
