Roberts helps Tar Heels softball avoid series sweep

In the third game of the final ACC series in Anderson Stadium for the year, North Carolina senior Anna Roberts had a job to do.

“Kelli (Wheeler), the left fielder and myself, we said that if there was ever an error or any person down, it was our job to pick them up,” Roberts said.

But instead of picking up after Tar Heel errors in an easy 4-0 win, the 5-foot-7 outfielder just scored big off Maryland mistakes.

After a third inning error by Maryland center fielder Sara Acosta, Roberts earned a single from a short infield groundball. Junior Brittany McKinney followed with her 10th home run of the season, and the runs put UNC up, 3-0.

“We wanted them to be in the moment,” UNC coach Donna Papa said. “Every player that was on the bench had an assignment, and it really helped us stay focused, and it helped keep everything light.”

And for the past couple weeks, Roberts has had no problem fulfilling her duty.

In the previous five games before the weekend series, the Greenville native had a batting average of .421 and had tallied three runs and three RBIs.

Against Maryland, the streak continued.

In Saturday’s doubleheader she registered two RBIs, two extra-base hits and threw two runners out from the outfield.

But her efforts alone were not enough to carry the team, and the Tar Heels dropped both games, 5-2 and 2-1.

“It’s tough because a win and a loss is never an individual effort. It’s always the team.” Roberts said.

“You want everyone to do well, and it’s very unfortunate that one person can perform, and it’s not widespread across the whole team.”

In addition to her third inning score, Roberts slugged a fifth inning pitch into center field. The double sent Christine Knauer, who would later score the fourth UNC run of the afternoon, to third. It was her 10th extra-base hit of the season.

After helping UNC escape a Maryland sweep on her senior night, Roberts couldn’t help but smile. Despite Saturday’s disappointments, she closed the book on her home series career with a performance she was proud of.

And she wasn’t the only one beaming.

“She has a great arm, she has great game sense, and she just tore it up in right center field,” Papa said. “Everything came together for her this weekend, both offensively and defensively. She was a leader for us out on the field.”



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