University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Florida State
No. 11 Florida State Takes Series Opener
March 26, 2016 | Softball
CHAPEL HILL – The Carolina offense showed tremendous fight, putting together 10 hits against No. 11 Florida State and repeatedly battling back after trailing early, but a sloppy top of the seventh sealed UNC's fate, as the nationally-ranked Seminoles defeated the Tar Heels, 15-6, in the ACC series opener. The win was FSU's 19th straight, improving to 24-3 (4-0 ACC), while Carolina drops to 15-15 (3-4 ACC).
“I think we prepared really well,” said head coach Donna J. Papa. “We had 10 hits, and I think the biggest difference between us and them today was that when they had people on, they made more of that opportunity than we did. I feel like we won on everything except the scoreboard, because we competed. We never looked like we were down or that we gave up. We fought every single inning and I thought we had some quality at-bats.”
Friday night was “Aquilla Mateen Day,” honoring the senior for her contributions throughout her career, and the Tar Heel centerfielder made it count, going a home run shy of the cycle with her ACC-leading third triple of the season and an RBI double, finishing the night 3-for-4 with two runs, two stolen bases, including a swipe of home, and two RBIs.
“I'm really happy for her because I felt like she could do that most of the year and she just hasn't,” said Papa. “I've kind of gone away from bunts with her. I'd like her to do more hard slaps and power slaps like she did tonight. She had a great night tonight and did it with a bang.”
Leah Murray went 2-for-4 with a steal and two runs scored, and Kristen Brown singled, doubled and drove in two runs. Elena Covert, making her first start in two years, went 1-for-3 with a walk, and Destiny DeBerry reached base four times at the top of the lineup, going 1-for-2 with three walks and three stolen bases.
“I thought Elena did a great job,” said Papa. “She put the bat on the ball and hit it hard. Yesterday at practice, she was really hitting the ball well. We're in the second part of our season and we needed to shake up our lineup a little bit. We needed somebody that's swinging the bat and putting the ball in play and Elena has a really good eye at the plate. Unfortunately for her, she's been injured for a year and a half, but she's observed a lot. Sometimes when that happens, you see more of the game and now she has the opportunity to go in and do something. I'm excited for her and for us going forward.”
Carolina was extremely aggressive on the basepaths, taking advantage of every base runner for a total of seven steals on the night, one shy of the Tar Heels' program record which was matched earlier this season against IUPUI. The Seminole battery had allowed a total of just seven stolen bases on the season before doubling that figure on Friday night.
“We ran on their catchers,” said Papa. “I thought we did a great job baserunning. We were aggressive on the bases. I had to take that chance to advance our runners because they do have a really good pitching staff.”
Kendra Lynch (13-12) started in the circle for UNC, but finished the night with 13 runs, all earned, on 12 hits and five walks with five strikeouts over six innings. Lauren Fuller came in to close out the seventh and allowed just one hit and one walk but two unearned runs before completing the inning.
“The first two innings, I didn't think Kendra was as sharp as she's been, but I thought she got stronger as the game went on,” said Papa. “One of the things that concerned me tonight was walking the leadoff, and that always comes back to bite you. But I really thought that Lauren Fuller did a pretty good job in relief.”
Meghan King started for FSU but left the game after allowing four runs, three earned on seven hits and a walk over the first 3.2 innings. Jessica Burroughs (14-2) closed out the game for Florida State, allowing the final two runs on three hits and five walks over 3.1 innings, earning the win.
Florida State scored two in the top of the first. Morgan Klaevemann drew a leadoff walk then stole second. Alex Powers then drove her in from third with a high chopped through the left side. A walk on an illegal pitch loaded the bases with one out, then Lynch struck out Carsyn Gordon for the second out. Zoe Casas made it 2-0 with an RBI single to left, but another bases-loaded strikeout stopped the Seminoles in their tracks, avoiding a big inning.
The Seminoles doubled their lead in the top of the second, as Ellie Cooper drilled a two-run shot to left center to make it 4-0.
Carolina got two back in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit in half. Mateen led off with a single up the middle then stole second. Taylor Wike made it first and third with a single up the middle, then the pair executed a perfect double steal for the first run of the game. Brown then clocked a two-out RBI double to right center to make it 4-2.
Three extra-base hits in the top of the fourth helped FSU to a 7-2 lead. Cali Harrod led off with a triple and Klaevemann was hit by a pitch. Cooper sent them both home on a double down the right field line but was thrown out trying to stretch it to triple on a perfect gun from Wike. Powers then made it 7-2 with a solo homer to straightaway center.
The Tar Heels replied with two in the bottom of the fourth. Murray led off with a single then stole second. Mateen hit one to the left side. The second baseman dove and just got a glove on it, diverting it to no-mans land behind first base, as Mateen landed safely on second with an RBI double. DeBerry followed with a walk and stole second, then Wike grounded to second. Cooper's throw pulled Powers off the bag allowing Mateen to score. Jessica Burroughs then entered the circle and got Delamora to fly out to center to strand runners on the corners.
“I had a quote for them today and it was all about defining your own destiny,” said Papa. “I feel like they tried to do that today. I think fighting back to answer is big. You always want to answer back whenever a team scores on you. If you can answer back, that shows that you're not just backing off.”
A bases-loaded walk and a sac fly gave FSU more of a cushion, pulling ahead 9-4 in the sixth.
Three walks and a hit by pitch led to a Carolina run in the bottom half, as the two teams headed into the seventh with the score, 9-5.
Carolina's defense struggled in the top of the seventh, making four errors to go along with five singles and two sac flies allowed, as Florida State put up six runs to take a 15-5 lead.
UNC did not roll over, as Murray led off with a single up the middle and Covert followed with a walk. Darby Rosen grounded into a double play, but Mateen kept the game alive by ripping her 10th career triple to the wall in right center, sending Murray across the plate to make it 15-6 before the game finally came to a close.
“We told them that tomorrow FSU is probably just going to expect us to roll over, but we're not going to do that!” said Papa. “They're a quality team, and ranked pretty high nationally. They've dominated our conference the past couple of years, but I thought we hit their pitchers pretty decently. We prepared for them and what they were going to throw to us. We need a little more discipline, and that's on me now, going forward.”
The Tar Heels and Seminoles return to Anderson Stadium on Saturday, March 26, to conclude the conference series with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
