Tar Heels Drop Syracuse Opener, 3-1

Saturday, April 22

Syracuse, N.Y.

1:00 PM

North Carolina

35-13, 13-6

Syracuse

26-16, 7-9

North Carolina

Syracuse

Tar Heels Claim Battle Of The Carolinas, 7-3

April 22, 2017 | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: UNC Athletic Communications

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
North Carolina (35-13, 13-6)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	1
Syracyse (26-16, 7-9)	2	0	0	0	1	0	-	2	6	0

Syracuse, N.Y. – Two runs in the bottom of the first proved all the offense that Syracuse would need, as the Orange held on to defeat North Carolina, 3-1, on a chilly Saturday afternoon. The win lifts SU to 26-16 (7-9 ACC), while the Tar Heels fall to 35-13 (13-6 ACC).

Katelyn Shifflett led Carolina at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a solo home run. Taylor Wike reached base in each of her first three at-bats with two walks and a single, and Brittany Pickett had UNC's only other hit with a sixth-inning single. Berlynne Delamora and Kendra Lynch both walked twice in the game, as Delamora's 43rd walk of the year in the top of the seventh tied Carolina's single-season record, set just last season by Kristen Brown (2013-16).

Pickett (20-3) went the distance for Carolina, limiting Syracuse to two earned runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. After allowing hits to the first three batters of the game, she scattered three singles over the remaining six frames, including retiring eight straight batters, but was tagged with just her third career loss.

AnnaMarie Gatti (7-5) pitched to all but the final batter, limiting Carolina to one run on four hits despite eight walks with four strikeouts. Alexa Romero entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh and struck out Pickett to seal the win and capture her second save of the year.

The first three Syracuse batters of the game hit safely, as Sydney O'Hara drove in Sammy Fernandez with an RBI single, set up by a double to center by Alicia Hansen. An RBI ground out by Faith Cain made it 2-0 Orange, before a pair of pop ups stranded two in scoring position.

Shifflett cut the lead in half in the top of the second, drilling a solo home run to left center.

Gatti walked the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the third, but Pickett grounded sharply to third to end the inning with the Heels still trailing, 2-1.

Pickett retired eight straight batters, including striking out the side in the bottom of the third, until Martinez laced one to left field with two outs in the fourth. The ball landed on top of the wall, paused a moment, then bounced back into play for a long single, then Pickett got a comebacker to end the inning.

Hansen skied one to deep left field with one out in the fifth. Micaela Abbatine got under it but did not make the catch as Hansen hustled all the way around to third on the error. Bryce Holmgren re-entered the game and made Carolina pay with a two-out RBI single to add some insurance, 3-1.

Leah Murray, Delamora and Lynch all walked in the top of the seventh, putting the go-ahead run on first base with two outs, but Romero came in and struck out Pickett to seal the win for the Orange, 3-1.

North Carolina returns to Skytop Stadium on Sunday, April 23, for a doubleheader with Syracuse beginning at 10 a.m. Both games will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.