University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Notre Dame
Notre Dame Edges UNC 4-3
March 5, 2011 | Softball
March 5, 2011
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA --- An Alexia Clay RBI sacrifice fly gave Notre Dame a 4-3 win over North Carolina in eight innings Saturday in game three of the 2011 Citrus Classic. Lori Spingola took the tough luck loss as UNC falls to 12-7 overall.
Spingola (9-5) allowed four runs on eight hits in 7 2/3 innings of work. The Atlanta, Ga., native struck out four and issued just two walks. The freshman has now suffered to extra inning defeats in her last two outings.
Offensively Kelli Wheeler and Ally Blake paced UNC with a solo home run apiece. The duo combined for two RBI and five of the Tar Heels' eight hits. Brittany McKinney notched a single and RBI, pushing the go-ahead run across in the top of the eighth.
The Tar Heels' leadoff batter reached safely in each of the first three innings, but UNC failed to manufacture a run. Carolina stranded five base runners in the first three frames as Irish pitcher Jody Valdivia wriggled out of several jams with timely outs.
The only blemish on Spingola's line through the first two frames was a 12 pitch walk issued to an Irish batter. The freshman allowed her first hits in the bottom of the third frame, but escaped the jam with a fly out. Spingola allowed just two hits with a pair of strikeouts after three as both teams combined to leave eight runners in scoring position after three.
Wheeler broke a scoreless tie in the fifth with a towering solo home run in the fifth frame. Classmate Blake followed suit sending a solo shot down over the left field fence to push another run across for the Tar Heels. Carolina owned a 2-0 lead after five frames of play.
The Fighting Irish knotted the score at two in the sixth frame. Amy Buntin belted a two-run home run over the center field fence to tie the score at two. Spingola ended the inning with a fly out and strikeout, but the score remained knotted at two.
The Tar Heels wriggled out of jam in the bottom of the seventh with a 5-3 double play. Third baseman Brittany Robinson corralled a line drive down the left field line and fired to first to end the seventh inning, sending the game to extras for the second time in as many days.
Carolina capitalized on the international tie breaker rule plating one run in the eighth. McKinney ripped a two-out RBI single up the middle to score Tisha Mahon and give the Tar Heels a 3-2 advantage.
Notre Dame answered as Dani Miller knocked in the tying run with one out in the bottom of the frame. A hit later and the Irish placed runners on second and third with two outs. Clay's RBI sacrifice fly scored Miller to give Notre Dame the narrow 4-3 extra inning win.
The Tar Heels will play Long Island at 3 p.m. in their fourth game of the 2011 Citrus Classic later Saturday afternoon.
