University of North Carolina Athletics
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Florida State
No. 11 Florida State Sweeps Twin Bill, Series
March 26, 2016 | Softball
CHAPEL HILL – Carolina's offense continued to test No. 11 Florida State's top-notch pitching staff, but the Seminoles' firepower proved too strong for UNC's defense, as FSU completed the weekend sweep with a 9-6 victory followed by a 12-5 win on Saturday. Florida State finishes the weekend on a 21-game winning streak, sitting atop the conference standings at 26-3 (6-0 ACC), while UNC slips to 15-17 (3-6 ACC).
“I think we did well,” said head coach Donna J. Papa. “We competed at the plate and I thought Lauren Fuller did an outstanding job in her start today. We could have come out really flat in game two, and I don't think we did. We lost all three games, and that stinks, but I do think we're making progress to where we want to be.
“We still need to clean up our defense, because we made some mistakes at some critical times. However, I think our pitchers did alright and our hitters as well. I just really like the fight in us. If you lose the fight, you lose the fight. We didn't lose that and that's something I feel like we haven't had in some of our previous games. I feel like we will have that moving forward. That's something for us to build on.”
Florida State's pitching staff entered the weekend ranked fourth in the nation with a 1.33 ERA but allowed 17 runs on 25 hits over the series, including 15 hits for 11 runs in Saturday's doubleheader. Seniors Aquilla Mateen and Kristen Brown combined for 10 of those hits, both hitting .500 with two doubles and a triple between them.
“Jessica Burroughs is one of the premier pitchers around the country and I felt like we weren't intimidated by that and we got up and took our hacks. She had a nice off-speed pitch, but it wasn't really for a strike, so we just had to be disciplined. Overall, I thought the girls did a great job this weekend. It sounds funny to say that when we lost all three games, but we did some good things. We put the ball in play a lot. I thought Kiwi did some great things this weekend, but it's just going to be small steps for us.”
After hitting safely in seven consecutive at-bats, Kendra Lynch was held off the basepaths on Friday night, but cam right back to collect three hits and two RBIs in the doubleheader.
Freshman Destiny DeBerry stole a total of five bases on the weekend, with at least one steal in every game, to move into ninth place all time at UNC with 20 swipes on the season. With two steals on Friday night, Mateen jumped past Tisha Mahon (2010-13) into fifth place all time with 58 steals for her career, including 14 this season.
“I thought we did a great job stealing bases this weekend; that was a highlight,” said Papa. “That put us in a better position to score runs.”
Heels Can't Overcome Eight-Run Second, Fall 9-6
Senior Lauren Fuller hurled five shutout innings of relief, but an eight-run second inning was too much for Carolina to overcome as the Tar Heels dropped game one, 9-6. Carolina had a 2-1 lead heading into the second and fought back to score four more but could not undo all the damage, as UNC dropped its second straight to the No. 11 Seminoles.
“I felt like the first game today was the game where we had an opportunity to win,” said Papa. Lauren came in and shut down innings and then you want to go out there and score some. She did a great job with that, giving us the opportunity to win that game, but just didn't happen.”
Taylor Wike and Kristen Brown led UNC at the plate with two hits apiece, including a two-run home run by Wike. Kendra Lynch started the scoring with a two-run single, and Aquilla Mateen singled and scored in the third.
Lynch (13-13) got the start in the circle, but made it through just two innings, allowing nine runs, eight earned, on six hits and three walks. Fuller looked sharp in relief, giving up just four hits and three walks with three strikeouts over five scoreless frames.
Meghan King (11-1) went the distance for FSU, earning the win despite allowing six runs on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Florida State scored an unearned run in the top of the first, manufacturing the first run of the game on a walk, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly with the help of an error by Berlynne Delamora that would have been the second out.
The Tar Heels took the lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-out, two-run single by Lynch. Wike got the inning started with a single to center then stole second. Delamora was hit by a pitch and Brown put the pair in scoring position for Lynch with a ground out to first.
The Seminoles erupted for eight runs in the top of the second off six hits, two walks and a hit batter. Carsyn Gordon doubled to deep right to put the first two runners in scoring position, and a two-run home run by Zoe Casas capped off the explosive inning, putting FSU on top, 9-2.
Carolina fought right back in the bottom of the second, using a two-out rally to score three. Mateen got it started, ripping a single off the pitcher who then overthrew first and allowed her to get all the way to third. DeBerry followed with an RBI single, and Wike clocked a two-run home run to right field to cut FSU's lead in half, 9-5.
Fuller took over in the circle to start the third and shut the Seminoles down for the first time, then UNC chipped away further at the lead with a run in the bottom half. Brown hit a single that dropped in between the circle and first base, then stole second. Murray grounded back to the pitcher but was hit by the throw to first, which allowed Brown to come around to score, making it 9-6.
UNC got runners on base every inning but had just one base hit over the final four frames, as Florida State held on to win, 9-6, and clinch the series victory.
No. 11 Florida State Completes Sweep With 12-5 Win In Finale
After a strong relief appearance in game one, Fuller returned to the circle to make her first start of the season and third of her career.
“You always have to be ready,” said Fuller. “We only have two pitchers right now, so if it's not one day, it has to be the other. You have to find a way to get it done when it's your time.”
The Tar Heel senior struggled, however, as she got deeper into the game, finishing with 12 runs, eight earned, on 12 hits and two walks over the first four innings, taking a loss as her first pitching decision of the year. Lynch looked solid in relief, allowing just two hits over three shutout innings.
“They're a great hitting team, so the more they see a pitcher, the better they're going to hit,” said Fuller. “After five innings in the first game and not throwing as much this year, I was just going to trust my defense. They (FSU) got the hits when they needed to.”
Jessica Burroughs improved to 15-2 on the season, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and five walks over the complete seven innings.
“I think Lauren is a big plus because we haven't thrown her that much and she faced the No. 11 team in the country [this weekend],” said Papa. “She got a lot of ground balls and things like that. They made a lot of mistakes, but they put the ball in play and they got some good hits at key times and that's the difference.”
Lynch lead UNC at the plate, going 2-for-4, while Brown recorded the team's only two RBIs. Fuller connected for her first career triple, and Mateen walked, singled and scored.
Back-to-back doubles put Florida State on the board in the top of the second, and an RBI single by Harrod made it 2-0 Seminoles.
Fuller hit her first career triple to the corner in right with two outs in the bottom of the second, but a good play by the third baseman kept Jillian Ferraro's ball from getting through the left side, stranding Fuller on third.
Florida State took advantage of a Tar Heel error to score four unearned runs in the top of the third. With runners on first and second, Fuller got a comebacker and threw to third, but Delamora dropped the throw to load the bases with no outs. The Tar Heel defense got the next two outs, but a walk and a bases-clearing double made it 6-0 FSU.
The Tar Heels replied with three runs in the bottom of the third after Murray and Mateen singled to load the bases with no outs. Brown drew a walk for the first RBI, then a throwing error by the third baseman on Lynch's ball sent two Tar Heels across the plate, cutting the deficit in half, 6-3. Fuller chopped one that took a hard bounce off the shortstop, but the second baseman recovered to field the ball and straddle to reach second just before Lynch arrived to end the inning and save another run from scoring.
A two-run shot by Sydney Broderick pushed FSU back ahead by five, but Carolina replied with two in the bottom half. Ferraro led off with a single to left center and was replaced by pinch runner Kiana Sherlund. The Tar Heel freshman stole second then watched the throw skip away from the bag. She stood up and hustled to third, and the center fielder's throw also got away from the base as Sherlund came all the way around to score. DeBerry and Mateen kept the inning going with walks and Brown drove in DeBerry with a single up the middle to make it 8-5 after four.
Florida State scored four more in the top of the fifth, chasing Fuller from the circle. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs, then Klaevemann hit a two-run single to end Fuller's day. Lynch took over but surrendered a two-run double to Cooper before closing out the inning with FSU ahead 12-5.
Lynch hit a lead off single in the bottom of the fifth, but she would prove the only Tar Heel to reach base in the final three innings despite singling again with two outs in the seventh, as FSU closed out the 12-5 victory.
UNC's homestand continues on Tuesday, March 29, with a visit from USC Upstate. The 2015 Atlantic Sun Champions are ranked just outside the top 25 in both polls and sit at an impressive 28-6 so far this season. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 5 p.m.
