Despite Hot Bats, Softball Drops Series Opener To No. 15 Duke, 9-7

Friday, March 17

Chapel Hill

1 P.M.

North Carolina

10-17, 0

Duke

22-5, 0

DUKE

North Carolina

Despite Hot Bats, Softball Drops Series Opener To No. 15 Duke, 9-7

March 17, 2023 | Softball

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Despite tallying 16 hits, the most for the Tar Heels since 2018, the Carolina softball team (10-17, 1-3 ACC) dropped a 9-7 decision to No. 15 Duke (22-5, 5-2 ACC) on Friday afternoon in the series opener.

After the Blue Devils took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, the Tar Heels fought back in the home side of the inning. Carolina tied the game up, plating four runs on six hits and a Blue Devil error, including Abby Settlemyre's team-best sixth homerun of the season.

After the Blue Devils took a 6-4 lead in the top of the third, Carolina once again fought back. The Tar Heels tallied a run in both the bottom of the third and the fourth, highlighted by a RBI from Bela Emerling, one of her two in the game, to make it 6-6.

The Tar Heels faced eight Blue Devils in the top of the sixth, when Duke took a 9-7 lead, plating three runs on a pair of hits and three walks.

Settlemyre plated the final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth, hitting a ball up the middle to send Destiny Middleton home.

After keeping Duke off the board in the seventh, which included Settlemyre tallying the team's tenth double play of the season, Carolina loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh.

With three on and one out, the Tar Heels couldn't plate any runs, ending the game with a strikeout and a pop out.

Kenna Raye Dark (2-3) took the loss in the circle, allowing five earned runs, eight hits and four walks in 5.1 innings of work.

Bailey McCachren, who started the game, pitched one out, allowing a pair of earned runs, while Talia Hannappel pitched the remaining 1.1 innings.

Notables:

Isabela Emerling went 4-of-4 at the plate with two RBIs. She is the first Tar Heel to have four hits in a game since Kristina Burkhardt had vs. Notre Dame (2/12/21)
Carolina tallied 16 hits on the day. It's the most hits by a Tar Heel team since defeating Wisconsin 9-7 on Feb. 17, 2018
Abby Settlemyre hit her sixth home run of the season, bringing her season RBI total to 16, just one shy of a team best. She also has a team-best 30 hits on the season, seventh most of any player in the ACC
With three stolen bases on the day, one from Middleton, Settlemyre and Skyler Brooks, the Tar Heels now have 41 stolen bases on the season

Up Next
Carolina will look to even up the series on Saturday at 2 p.m.

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