Softball tops Radford twice

Late-game, two-out rallies ensured that the North Carolina softball team would win both games against Radford in Wednesday’s home opener at Anderson Stadium.

No. 23 UNC defeated the Highlanders 7-1 in the afternoon contest and 7-3 in the 6 p.m. game.

Pitcher Lori Spingola held Radford to one hit while notching 12 strikeouts.

The Tar Heel offense, energized by home runs from Kristen Brown in the bottom of the fourth inning and Constance Orr in the bottom of the sixth inning, scored seven runs in game one.

A seventh-inning flurry of Radford hits posed a threat to that lead, but freshman pitcher Lauren Fuller retired the Highlanders after allowing only one run.

“That’s always a winning combination,” coach Donna Papa said. “You get a pitcher that has 12 strikeouts, an offense that can hit the long ball and not make any errors.”

UNC got off to a rockier start in the second game and trailed 3-1 going into the bottom of fifth inning. Papa attributed the slow start to unfamiliarity with Radford pitcher Rachael Walters.

“We had to kind of go in blind,” Papa said. “We usually rely on some scouting reports to get some tendencies, but we didn’t know what her tendencies were going to be.”

But the Tar Heels figured out her tendencies just in time.

In the fifth, freshman Erin Satterfield drove a ball off the left field wall for a double with one out and advanced to third on a deep fly ball to right. With two outs and down two runs, Orr stepped up to the plate and singled up the middle to score Satterfield.

Redshirt freshman Jenna Kelly followed the RBI with a single to left field and designated hitter Kati Causey loaded the bases with another single. Sophomore Amber Parrish singled to left, driving in Orr, which tied the game at three.

After senior Paige Williams hit another RBI single for the lead, Radford pulled Walters. The replacement immediately walked Jordan Scarboro with the bases loaded.

Amy Nece, who had led off the inning, drove in UNC’s final runs with a two-RBI single to put the Tar Heels up 7-3 going into the sixth inning.

A close play at the plate in the top of the sixth inning was the closest the Highlanders got to scoring again in the game, and UNC held its lead for the second time against Radford. Papa said that the rally was not unexpected.

“In practice, we work a lot with getting a runner on, moving them over and then once we move them, scoring them,” Papa said.

While Radford might not be as highly ranked as some of UNC’s opponents this year, Brown said UNC was treating the Highlanders no differently.

“I think we really go into each game just as we’re playing another team,” Brown said. “We just played them like they were anybody, like they were LSU or any top team.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.