University of North Carolina Athletics
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Arkansas
Carolina Shuts Down Arkansas, 5-0
February 14, 2016 | Softball
Austin, Texas – Carolina softball closed the Texas Classic on a high note, as junior Kendra Lynch hurled her second complete-game shutout of the weekend to lead the Tar Heels to a 5-0 victory over Arkansas. The win lifts Carolina to 2-3, while Arkansas falls to 1-4.
“I saw a bounce back from our players,” said head coach Donna J. Papa. “We talked to them before the game about believing in themselves. I asked if they really believed that they were good, and I told them that the big thing that they had to do today was really execute and go out and play as aggressively on defense as they had been at the plate. We were good hitters. We elevated our base running. We just needed to go out and believe in what we did and attack the ball and just have fun. I thought that we really played with a different mentality and a lot of confidence.”
Lynch (2-2) had a breakout opening weekend, pitching 22 innings for the Tar Heels with three scoreless outings, as the junior hurler finished Sunday's shutout with just five hits and two walks allowed, striking out three.
“I thought Kendra did an awesome job,” said Lynch. “She pitched a lot of innings, this is really her first big weekend doing that, and to end the game today with the strikeout that she had with bases loaded—the night before that girl had hit a big bomb—I'm really proud of her. She got a lot of ground balls and we made all the plays we needed to make. It was a great way to start off into next week. It definitely makes the trip home a lot easier.”
Sophomore Taylor Wike reached base in every appearance for the second time this weekend, going 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, two runs and a career-best two stolen bases. As a team, the Tar Heels stole four bases for the first time since March 27, 2014, which is also the last time a Tar Heel stole twice in a game (both Brown and Mateen had two).
Aquilla Mateen slugged her eighth career triple in the bottom of the first, and Kristen Brown and Lauren Fuller both went 1-for-2 and combined for three RBIs.
“I thought Lauren Fuller did a great job these last two days,” Papa continued. “She's gotten some key hits, she went 3-for-3 yesterday. She sat on that change up and drove the ball up the middle and secured the victory.”
Grace Moll (1-3) got the start for Arkansas, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits and four walks with four strikeouts. Peyton Carter replaced her for the final two innings and retired all six batters she faced, striking out one.
Stephanie Canfield led off the game with a triple to deep left, but Lynch kept the ball in the infield the rest of the inning to strand her on third.
Wike drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, and after stealing both second and third, she came around to score on an RBI triple by Mateen, the team's first three-bagger of the season. Brown followed with an RBI single up the middle, stole second and scored on a passed ball to make it 3-0 at the end of the first.
Aggressive base running helped Carolina put up two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Wike got the rally started with a two-out double to left center. Mateen walked on a wild pitch and took advantage of Wike's moving to third to swipe second on the play. The Razorbacks intentionally walked Brown to load the bases, and Fuller made them pay with a two-run single up the middle, making it 5-0 Tar Heels.
Arkansas did not go quietly, loading the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh. However, Lynch bared down and got a called strike three on full count to finish out her second complete-game shutout of the weekend.
“We have a good hitting team,” said Papa. “I think our pitching grew. I think the girls know better that they need to be in it for every play. You can't take a play off. We can hold a lead, which we didn't do the last two days, and we played like we were winning the game. That's the mentality that we have to take into every game, especially once we have a lead.”
The Tar Heels return to the East Coast for a midweek game on Wednesday, Feb. 17, travelling to Columbia for a border battle with South Carolina. The game, which will be streamed live on SEC Network PLUS, is set to begin at 1 p.m.
