After posting an impressive 12-0 home record at Anderson Stadium this season, the North Carolina women’s softball team gave up its unblemished home record Saturday afternoon in its sole loss in a three-game series with ACC rival Virginia Tech.
Ace pitcher Lori Spingola struggled more than usual in a disappointing 7-6 loss to the Hokies, and 29-year head coach Donna Papa had several disagreements with the home plate umpire throughout the course of the game.
In a day celebrating “Donna Papa Bobble Head Day” in which actual bobble heads of the iconic coach were awarded as prizes for audience trivia questions, the long-time UNC head coach was certainly in the spotlight for some part of the afternoon.
With several questionable balls and strikes going in Virginia Tech’s favor during the crucial final innings of Saturday’s first game — a timespan in which the Hokies broke up a 5-5 tie and took a lead they’d never relinquish — Papa wasn’t all smiles as her likeness on the bobble head suggested.
A close call at first base for the final out of UNC’s first and only home loss put an exclamation point on an altogether venomous relationship between Papa and those in blue.
Spingola, despite pitching a complete game, gave up nine hits and six walks in the first game after only giving up just two runs the previous night to the Hokies (19-8, 1-4 ACC). Spingola also looked frustrated at times with the calls behind the plate, and the results certainly didn’t fall in UNC’s favor.
Luckily for the embattled coach and her squad — and probably for the officials as well — the Tar Heels bounced back to a 5-1 victory in the following game in order to clinch a victory in the three-game series this weekend.
Coming through with 11 runs on Saturday bodes well for North Carolina’s offense that has recently been stagnant, scoring just five runs total in its three games before this weekend.
North Carolina will play its next seven games at home, with six of them coming in just the next seven days, including a doubleheader Wednesday night against James Madison and an upcoming weekend series against Virginia.
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