Pickett Hurls Three-Hit Gem In 1-0 Victory Over Spartans

Wednesday, April 12

Chapel Hill, N.C.

5:00 PM

North Carolina

32-11

USC Upstate

33-10

USC Upstate

North Carolina

April 12, 2017 | Softball

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By: UNC Athletic Communications

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
USC Upstate (33-10)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
North Carolina (32-11)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	5	0

CHAPEL HILL – Rookie pitcher Brittany Pickett was nearly flawless on Wednesday evening, going 2-for-2 at the plate while tossing a three-hit shutout to lead North Carolina to a 1-0 victory over USC Upstate. The win lifts the Tar Heels to 32-11 on the year, while USC Upstate drops to 33-10.

"It was an outstanding win, because Upstate is a really good team," said head coach Donna J. Papa. "There's no midweek game that's easy anymore. They have excellent pitching. Both of their pitchers are seniors, they mix the ball very well, throw change ups and off-speed stuff. But we played errorless ball and when you play errorless ball and you have someone that is shutting down a good hitting team, you put yourself in position to win."

Pickett (17-2) secured her third complete-game shutout of the season, limiting the Spartans to just three hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The rookie has been a part of all seven of UNC's shutouts this season. Pickett surrendered a leadoff single in the second and a pair of two-out hits in the third, then kept Upstate without a hit for the remainder of a game.

"She has matured so much," said Papa. "I've talked to her and she says she's getting comfortable out there. She's been in so many different situations; pressure, bases loaded, all those things. She's handled things really well. She's making pitches when she needs to make pitches. In about a year or two she will be an All-American. I see that in her. Once her hitting is consistent, she's going to be tough."

Upstate limited Carolina to just five hits in the game, split between seniors Holly McKinnon (17-6) and Lexi Shubert, who both entered the contest with sub-2.00 ERAs. McKinnon went the first 4.2 innings, allowing the game's lone run on four hits with four strikeouts. Shubert entered with a runner on second and two outs and allowed the inherited runner to score on a single before retiring the remaining batters she faced over a total of 1.1 innings.

Pickett led both teams with two hits in the game and was responsible for the game's lone run, scored by flex runner Hailey Cole in her place. Micaela Abbatine drove Cole in with an RBI single, and Berlynne Delamora and Kendra Lynch both singled in the fourth. Campbell Hutcherson picked up her second career sacrifice bunt to get Cole into scoring position.

Wednesday's victory was Carolina's 20th of the season at Anderson Stadium, marking the 10th time in program history that UNC has won 20 or more games at home. After going just 15-9 in Chapel Hill last year, the Heels are currently 20-3 on their home turf, with six regular season home games remaining. UNC hopes to continue its home success through May, as the Heels will be hosting the ACC Softball Championship at Anderson Stadium on May 11-13.

No runner got past second base until the bottom of the fifth, when Pickett led off with a single to the warning track in left center. Cole came in to run as the flex player, and Hutcherson laid down a sacrifice bunt to move her into scoring position. Abbatine then came through with a chopper just fair down the leftfield line for a two-out RBI single to push the first and only run of the game across the plate.

Pickett held Upstate without a hit for the remainder of the night, as she sealed up the complete-game shutout, 1-0.

"When you have two really good pitchers on the mound, two defensive teams, it's going to be a matter of who scores the first run," said Papa. "We executed when we needed to."

Carolina's homestand continues this weekend with the final home weekend of the regular season. The Tar Heels will host Boston College in a doubleheader on Friday, April 14, beginning at 4 p.m. then conclude the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. on Senior Day.