Softball
N.C. State - 0
UNC - 4
N.C. State - 0
UNC - 4
N.C. State - 1
UNC - 2
RALEIGH — The No. 15 North Carolina softball team had a 10-game winning streak entering Saturday's doubleheader against N.C. State in Raleigh. Dominant pitching and outstanding play by Danielle Spaulding characterized the run for the Tar Heels.
This weekend UNC (34-7 10-2 ACC) bumped its streak to 13 games — allowing only one hit in each of Saturday's games and getting three RBI and five hits from its leader" defeating N.C. State 4-0 in those matches and following Sunday with a 2-1 victory.
""When our pitchers are on the mound and we've got a couple of runs" I think we play with a lot of confidence" UNC coach Donna Papa said.
Spaulding, the reigning ACC player of the year, took mound duties for the first game Saturday.
The Wolfpack's lone hit, a bloop single over the head of shortstop Christine Knauer, came in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The junior Spaulding amassed 13 strikeouts, fanning five State players twice, while going 3-for-4 from the plate and scoring a run. Second baseman Brittany Robinson knocked in two runs on two hits, including a home run in the top of the fourth to stretch the lead to 3-0.
The 11 hits tallied by UNC tied for the second-most allowed by the Wolfpack all year. This came in front of 741 spectators, the largest crowd in the two-year history of State's Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium.
Lisa Norris followed Spaulding's model in the second game, pitching seven shutout innings, striking out nine and walking one. State broke up the no-hitter early with Hannah Ojeda's single but would only see one other base runner for the rest of the afternoon.
Our pitchers are two of the best pitchers in the ACC"" Papa said. There are some good hitters in State's lineup. But good pitching cuts down good hitting a lot of times.""
Designated player Emily Troup put UNC on the board first in the fifth inning with a solo home run that nicked the top of the right-field wall on its way out. Up only one in the top of the sixth and with two runners on base"" Spaulding hit the first pitch of the at-bat well over the left center-field wall to extend the lead to 4-0.
""I just wanted to get a base hit when we only had a one-run lead" Spaulding said. They were pitching pretty well" but I really felt like I was really seeing it well today.""
Going back to March 21"" Spaulding has hit six of her team-high eight home runs in the past 11 games.
""She's usually good for a home run in a doubleheader or a home run every other game"" Papa said.
During the 13-game win streak, UNC has allowed more than two runs only once. Spaulding improved to 15-2 while Norris went to 16-4 on the mound. The wins boosted UNC to three games in front of second-place Georgia Tech in the ACC standings.
The dominance exhibited by UNC defied history. N.C. State (18-16, 3-6) was 12-5 all time against the Tar Heels before Saturday and held a 4-3 record when UNC was ranked coming into the game. But the recipe for success could not be found in the doubleheader, where the Wolfpack suffered their worst losses against UNC of the series.
There's not much to describe because we didn't do much"" Wolfpack coach Lisa Navas said.
They just put the ball in play and nothing we can do. Our pitching didn't hit their spots and do what they needed to do.""
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
