University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Syracuse
Carolina Begins ACC Play With Doubleheader Split
March 12, 2016 | Softball
CHAPEL HILL – The Carolina Tar Heels hosted Syracuse University in a doubleheader on Saturday to begin the Atlantic Coast Conference season. UNC let a two-run lead slip away in game one, falling 8-2 in extra innings to start the day. However, a strong recovery in the circle by Kendra Lynch led to a 3-1 victory in the nightcap. At the end of the day, Syracuse sits at 9-10 (1-1 ACC), while UNC is now 11-11 (1-1 ACC). The pair will battle for the series victory in the finale on Sunday, with first pitch moved up to Noon due to potential rain in the forecast.
“It's tough,” said head coach Donna J. Papa. “You're excited about your first opportunity in the ACC and I thought we had things going our way. We left too many people on base. That's never a good thing. Going into the sixth inning, Kendra had a n- hitter going; you just have to close it out with six outs. They strung some hits together to their credit. They had one big hit with the home run, and we let it get away from us.
“I'm really proud of Kendra pitching the full second game, us being able to get a lead and hold onto it, and the defensive plays that we made. I'm really proud of what they did in bouncing back. I didn't think we'd have to bounce back today, but tomorrow we call championship Sunday because that's for the series. Our goal this year is to win every ACC series, whether we win all three games or win two out of three, and that's what we want to do tomorrow.”
Saturday was the start of Cancer Awareness Weekend, as Carolina held a silent auction with all proceeds going towards ovarian cancer research at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels wore special teal ribbon jerseys and invited Lineberger's Dr. Vickie Bae-Jump to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The event continues on Sunday for Go4theGoal's Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer game. After pledging a total of $865 at Saturday's auction, fans will have a second opportunity to bid on hot ticket items, with Sunday's proceeds going towards pediatric cancer.
Late Surge Leads Syracuse To Extra-Innings Victory in Series Opener
Carolina had runners on base in every inning but went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, as the Tar Heels wasted 10 hits for just two runs, driven in on a home run by senior Tracy Chandless. Tar Heel starter Kendra Lynch kept Syracuse without a hit over the first five innings, but the Orange tied the score in the sixth then exploded for six runs in the top of the eighth to defeat UNC, 8-2, in extra innings.
Destiny DeBerry was a force to be reckoned with at the top of the order, posting a team-season-high four hits in five at-bats. Chandless went 2-for-4 with the two-run home run, and Berlynne Delamora also collected two hits, including her first career double. Senior slugger Kristen Brown was not thrown a pitch to hit all game, as she was intentionally walked three times and hit by a pitch.
After five hitless innings, Lynch ended the outing with six runs on seven hits and six walks, tying her career high with seven strikeouts over 7.0+ innings. Lauren Fuller finished out the eighth inning, allowing just one hit and two unearned runs.
Jocelyn Cater got the start for Syracuse, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts over the first four innings. Sydney O'Hara took over to start the fifth and earned her first victory of the season with four shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
After stranding base hits in each of the first three innings, Carolina finally sent a runner across the plate in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to a two-run home run by Tracy Chandless.
Syracuse broke up the no-hitter in the top of the sixth, starting the inning with four straight hits to tie the score at two. Alyssa Dewes started it off with a double to the wall in center, then Sammy Fernandez drove her home with a double to right center. Maddi Doane put runners on the corners with a single to left center, then Corinne Ozanne tied the score with a bloop single to shallow center. Lynch then bared down for three straight outs to strand runners in scoring position and keep the Orange from taking the lead.
Both teams stranded an early-inning walk in the seventh, as the game headed to extra innings.
Doane led off the top of the eighth with a double to left center, and after Ozanne worked a walk, O'Hara crushed a three-run home run to give Syracuse a 5-2 lead. Fuller took over in the circle, but Tar Heel miscues led to a pair of unearned runs, giving the Orange an 8-2 lead to protect in the bottom of the eighth.
Delamora doubled with one out in the bottom of the eighth, then DeBerry beat out her fourth single of the game, but that was it for Carolina, as Syracuse won the series opener, 8-2.
Tar Heels Even Series With 3-1 Victory In Game Two
Kendra Lynch (9-8) went back to the circle for the second game of the doubleheader and shined in the complete game, allowing just one run on two hits to lead Carolina to a 3-1 victory. UNC had just five hits in the game, but succeeded for three runs.
“I think the difference between us in the first game and us in the second game is that in the second game, we had less opportunities, but we made the most of them,” said Papa. “The first game, we had a lot of opportunities, but didn't make anything of them. We popped out a lot, struck out, and ran ourselves out of a couple of innings. We squandered many opportunities in game one, but for the limited opportunities we had in game two—five hits, three runs— we did a great job.”
Taylor Wike led the Tar Heels at the plate, getting on base all three times with a single, a double and a hit by pitch, scoring a run. Berlynne Delamora had a two-out RBI single, and Destiny DeBerry came through with a sacrifice fly, driving in Kristen Brown who had singled.
AnnaMarie Gatti (3-7) went the distance in the circle for Syracuse, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts.
Mateen led off the third inning on first base due to an error by the second baseman. She stole second, then Brown singled up the middle. A wild pitch allowed Mateen to score the first run of the game, then DeBerry sent Brown home on a sacrifice fly.
The Tar Heels added some insurance in the bottom of the fourth, as Wike led off with a double to left, then Delamora made it 3-0 Carolina with an RBI single up the middle.
Much like the first game, Lynch allowed just one hit over the first five innings, but Danielle Chitkowski led of the sixth with a pinch hit home run. However, the Tar Heel junior did not allow for a repeat of game one, retiring the next six batters to complete the victory, 3-1.
