University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Campbell
Tar Heels Slug Past Camels, 9-6
April 28, 2016 | Softball
CHAPEL HILL – Carolina scored runs in all-but-one inning to power past Campbell, 9-6, in the final home game of 2016 at Anderson Stadium. The win lifts UNC to 27-22 on the year, while Campbell slips to 23-28.
“I think we did well with coming back after we were down a couple of runs,” said freshman Berlynne Delamora, who hit a game-winning hpme run in the fifth inning. “We just kept fighting. We didn't give up. We know how good we are, we just have to keep playing hard and not take any team lightly.”
The Tar Heels brought a 5-2 lead into the fifth inning, but a three-run home run by Amber Schisler turned the tables to Campbell ahead, 6-5. Berlynne Delamora then drilled a two-run home run to put UNC back in front, and two insurance runs in the sixth led the Heels to the 9-6 victory.
“She didn't even think it went over!” said head coach Donna J. Papa after Delamora's game-winning homer. “She is just steady. She just gets up there all the time, has that same look, she's very confident, and she does her job. Somehow, she finds a way to put the bat on the ball. Recently, bat on the ball over the fence. She's got a great future ahead and she's going to do nothing but get better. She's so coachable, she listens to everything you say, and has great poise in the box no matter what the situation is. I'm excited about her future. She's just a great quality kid that has really good fiber.”
Kendra Lynch (23-16) captured her 23rd win of the season, moving into a tie for ninth all time in single-season wins. The junior hurler struck out a career-high 12 batters in the game, including ringing up every Fighting Camel that came up to the plate at least once and striking out the first batter of five of the seven innings. Lynch allowed four earned runs on 10 hits and a walk, but was backed up by strong offense from her teammates.
Taylor Wike and Berlynne Delamora led the Carolina offense, each going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run and combining for five RBIs. Kristen Brown, Tracy Chandless, Leah Murray and Jillian Ferraro all doubled in the game, while Brown also walked, stole two bases—including home—and scored twice. Destiny DeBerry had an RBI single, a stolen base and a run, and Murray was 2-for-4 with a run.
After tying the school single-season record on Monday night, the Carolina offense stole an additional five bases on Wednesday to set a new program record for stolen bases in a season, now sitting at 95.
“With the speed that we recruited in, we've been able to use that to our advantage,” said Papa. “How we have it spaced out in the lineup—at the top, in the middle, and at the bottom—we get some speed on and we've been a lot more aggressive. I think Chelsey Barclay has been the driving force behind that in terms of helping us with our technique and mindset. All these things together and being willing to pull that plug and letting them go. That's different for me, because in the past I've been a little more conservative. It's been exciting and it's been fun, because you know that they can get it done. I just want them to get on base more and more so that I can send them.”
Courtney Roberts (8-11) started in the circle for Campbell, but left with one out in the fifth inning after allowing seven runs on nine hits and three walks. Katie Baker allowed the final two runs of the game, giving up two hits and two walks over the final 1.2 innings.
Carolina took advantage of a pair of walks to score two in the bottom of the first. Wike and Brown drew back-to-back one-out walks, then Lynch hit an RBI single to the gap in right center. Kiana Sherlund came in to run at first, and she and Brown executed a perfect double steal, as Brown trotted home.
Ferraro led off the bottom of the second with a double that dropped into shallow left center, and Wike sent her home with an RBI single to left, making it 3-0.
Campbell took advantage of two Tar Heel mistakes in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to one. Amber Schisler struck out on a ball in the dirt, but reached first safely as the ball got away from Ferraro. Taylor Campbell then dropped a single into shallow right field with two outs. Schisler scored and the throw to the plate was high, allowing Christa Smith to come all the way around and score from first.
The Tar Heels replied with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, as Murray led off with an infield single, then DeBerry and Wike hit back-to-back RBI singles with two outs to put UNC back ahead by three, 5-2.
Campbell took the lead in the top of the fifth, taking advantage of another Tar Heel error to get the leadoff batter on. After an RBI single by Taesha DuBoise, Schisler clocked a three-run home run to make it 6-5 Camels.
A two-run blast by Delamora put Carolina back in front in the bottom of the fifth. Chandless got it started with a double off the wall, then Delamora drove one to right center to make it 7-6 Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth. Brown doubled to the wall in right field, then Lynch walked. The pair executed a double steal, the first stolen base of the season for Lynch, and an overthrow by the catcher allowed Brown to score. Delamora drove Lynch home with an RBI single to give Lynch a three-run lead to protect in the seventh inning.
Christa Smith singled through the right side for a one-out base runner in the top of the seventh, but Lynch struck out the final two batters of the game to close out her ACC-leading 23rd victory, 9-6.
The Tar Heels take a 10-day break from competition to focus on final exams before hitting the road for the final series of the season. Carolina will return to action on Saturday, May 7, for a three-game series at Georgia Tech. The weekend begins at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, then concludes with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Sunday, May 8, to be streamed live on ESPN3.
