University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
26-7, 7-1
NC State
11-20, 5-3
Offensive Onslaught Powers Heels Past State In Six
March 25, 2017 | Softball
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
| NC State (11-20, 5-3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| North Carolina (26-7, 7-1) | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 17 | 1 |
CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina exploded for a season-high 17 hits on Saturday afternoon to power past NC State, 12-4, in six innings. The win follows a shutout of the Wolfpack on Friday night, securing UNC's third straight ACC series victory, as Carolina improves to 26-7 (7-1 ACC) while State slips to 11-20 (5-3 ACC).
Every Tar Heel starter had at least one hit in the game, with six of the nine batters turning in multi-hit performances. Katie Bailiff dazzled at the plate, going 3-for-4 with her first career grand slam. Taylor Wike went 3-for-5 with a run, a stolen base and two RBIs, while Leah Murray, Destiny DeBerry, Katelyn Shifflett and Hailey Cole all had two hits.
Kendra Lynch launched her career-high 13th home run of the season in the bottom of the second, the 44th of her career, and Brittany Pickett followed with a two-run blast, her second of the weekend, to go with two walks.
As a team, Carolina put together a total of 17 hits in the game, the most since April 1, 2015, when UNC collected 18 hits in a win at No. 9 Georgia. Bailiff's grand slam was the first for UNC since March 28, 2015, when Tracy Chandless and Amber Parrish both cleared the bases in an ACC doubleheader at Virginia.
Lynch (8-3) went the distance in the circle, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Brittany Nimmo (4-9) started for NC State but left with the bases loaded in the third, surrendering six runs on six hits and a walk over 2.0+ innings. Harli Hubbard threw the remaining 3.1 innings, allowing the final six runs on 11 hits and three walks. Neither State pitcher struck out a Tar Heel.
Cheyenne Balzer had two of NC State's four hits to go with three RBIs, slugging an RBI double and a two-run home run.
NC State cracked the scoreboard first in the top of the second. Haylee Kobziak led off with a single through the right side, and Alyssa Compton bunted her over to second. Cheyenne Balzer then ripped a double down the left-field line to make it 1-0 Wolfpack.
Lynch tied the score with one swing with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second. DeBerry reached on a bunt single, then Pickett crushed a two-run blast to make it 3-1 Tar Heels.
Carolina more than batted around in the bottom of the third, plating seven runs including a Bailiff grand slam. Wike singled to lead off the inning, then Delamora and Lynch were hit by a pitch and walked to load the bases for the Tar Heel catcher. DeBerry and Shifflett kept the rally going with singles, then DeBerry hustled home on a wild pitch. Wike sent Campbell Hutcherson home with a grounder to second, then Delamora made it 10-1 with an RBI single the gap in left center.
The Wolfpack did not give in, as Compton worked a full-count walk in the top of the fourth, and Balzer roped a two-run shot to center to make it 10-3.
The Tar Heels loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth and had runners on first and third in the fifth, but were unable to plate a runner, as the score remained 10-3 until the top of the sixth when Molly Hutchison led off with a solo home run for State.
Shifflett led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to left, then Pickett walked. A ground out to short put the pair in scoring position, then an infield single by Murray allowed Shifflett to score. Murray stole second, and Wike ended the game with an RBI single through the right side, sending Pickett across the plate to make it 12-4 Carolina, securing the run-rule victory.
UNC vies for the series sweep on Sunday, March 26, hosting NC State in the ACC series finale at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lynch, Kendra (8-3)
L: Brittany Nimmo (4-9)
Batting:
2B: Cheyenne Balzer 1
HR: Molly Hutchison 1 ; Cheyenne Balzer 1
RBI: Molly Hutchison 1 ; Cheyenne Balzer 3
SH: Alyssa Compton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Molly Hutchison 1 ; Haylee Kobziak 1 ; Alyssa Compton 1 ; Cheyenne Balzer 1
Batting:
HR: Lynch, Kendra 1 ; Bailiff, Katie 1 ; Pickett, Brittany 1
RBI: Murray, Leah 1 ; Wike, Taylor 2 ; Delamora, Berlynne 1 ; Lynch, Kendra 1 ; Bailiff, Katie 4 ; Pickett, Brittany 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Murray, Leah 1 ; Wike, Taylor 1 ; Abbatine, Micaela 1 ; Lynch, Kendra 2 ; Bailiff, Katie 1 ; DeBerry, Destiny 2 ; Shifflett, Katelyn 1 ; Pickett, Brittany 2 ; Hutcherson, Campbell 1
SB: Murray, Leah 1 ; DeBerry, Destiny 1
CS: Wike, Taylor 1
HBP: Delamora, Berlynne 1
