UNC softball falls to Campbell in first game of double header

Amber Johnson held the ball in her blistered hands, rolling it up and down her leg. Her arm seemed twice as heavy as it hung by her side. After pitching in 15 straight games, it’s a wonder that her arm is still attached.

And though she put every ounce of energy she had left into her pitches, it wasn’t enough as Campbell took the first game of a double header 6-4 Wednesday night.

“She’s been a total workhorse,” sophomore Kelli Wheeler said. “She’s hurting but she sucks it up and really doesn’t let us know that she’s hurting. She just puts us on her shoulders.”

A day after No. 22 North Carolina (26-11) scored 17 runs against South Carolina, the Tar Heels struggled to find any offense against Campbell (15-19-1). In the first game, UNC managed only four runs on six hits. The Tar Heels would go on to take the second game of the double header 5-2.

North Carolina got out to an early 3-0 lead in the first game. But Campbell stormed back in the last three innings, scoring one run in two of the frames.

“I think we were kind of content with what we had,” sophomore Constance Orr said. “We weren’t as motivated to get hits.”

Johnson finally got her long awaited game off, as Orr spelled the senior in the second game. It was the first time Orr has pitched a complete seven innings this season.

“It felt great actually,” Orr said. “I have been struggling a lot, so finally getting in my groove felt good.”

But early in the second game, Campbell had Orr and UNC on their heels. The Camels held a 2-1 lead though four innings.

Both teams were searching for whatever would get them the win. The contest got so heated that in the bottom of the first inning, North Carolina coach Donna Papa had a Campbell fan thrown out after the fan profanely protested an illegal pitch call.

But in the sixth inning, UNC finally found some success in the batter’s box. Catcher Brittany McKinney launched a home run down the left field line and gave UNC the lead which they wouldn’t relinquish.

“We did a really nice job of fighting,” Papa said. “Once Brittany McKinney’s home run, that opened up the door. We got another hit and another hit and there you go.”



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