University of North Carolina Athletics
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NC State
Carolina Powers Past NC State, Advances To ACC Semifinals
May 8, 2014 | Softball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Kendra Lynch's grand slam and Lori Spingola's strong showing on the mound powered the Tar Heels past NC State in Thursday's quarterfinals of the 2014 ACC Softball Tournament at the University of Maryland.
UNC took down the Wolfpack 8-4, as the Tar Heels belted three big home runs to claim the win at Maryland Softball Stadium. Lynch recorded her second grand slam of the year, while Jenna Kelly hit a two-run blast, and Amber Parrish added a solo shot to seal the win in the seventh.
"I'm extremely proud of the girls and how they competed today," head coach Donna J. Papa said. "We were on a mission today, and we executed the game plan perfectly. I thought our bats were so alive. Kendra Lynch, Jenna Kelly and Amber Parrish all had big hits for us, and Lori Spingola pitched one of her best games today and did a great job of keeping their hitters off balance. We also played outstanding defense, with Amy Nece, Aquilla Mateen and Darby Rosen all making big plays for us."
"Everybody stepped up and did their job, and it was a total team win today. It was a great way to start the tournament, and I'm really excited about how we played today," Papa said.
Carolina came out swinging in the first, loading the bases after Amy Nece reached on an error and Kristen Brown and Parrish each singled. Kelly laid down a perfect bunt to reach first, scoring Nece for the first run. With bases still loaded, Lynch smashed the ball out right center, clearing the bases for an early 5-0 lead.
Brown led off the third with an infield single before Kelly hit her two-run blast out center to make it 7-0.
After Chelsea Tate was hit by a pitch to lead off the fifth, NC State broke up Spingola's shut out as Sara Lippard singled to left and double to left by Renada Davis drove in both runners.
The Wolfpack added two more runs on a homer to left center by Leah Jones, cutting UNC's lead to 7-4, before Parrish tacked on one more run for Carolina with a solo shot out center to secure the 8-4 win.
Lori Spingola (18-14) retired eight batters in the win, giving up four hits and four runs in 5.1 innings of work. Ashley Bone earned her second save of the year, pitching 1.1 innings with just one hit and one walk surrendered.
Up Next: ACC Semifinals vs. Florida State
Carolina will meet top seed FSU on Friday at 1 p.m. Fans can follow the game with live stats and watch live on RSN and ESPN3.
