Tar Heel softball shuts out ECU 8-0

Aside from both being Georgia natives, senior third baseman Haleigh Dickey and junior pitcher Lori Spingola of the North Carolina softball team shared something else in last weekend’s 2-1 series loss against N.C. State — rough outings.

Against the Wolfpack, Spingola surrendered walk-off homers in UNC’s two losses, while Dickey went one-for-nine from the plate in the series.

But in UNC’s 8-0 defeat of East Carolina (18-25) in five innings on Wednesday, both Spingola and Dickey displayed their ability to bounce back from a weekend slump.

“We definitely came out today with a fire to win since we didn’t get the two wins we needed last weekend,” Dickey said. “We were just more relaxed and able to move runners when they were on base.

“Overall, we just played very free today and got the job done.”

Dickey got off to a quick start at the plate, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning to give the Tar Heels an early 1-0 lead.

But the senior wasn’t done redeeming herself after her disappointing weekend.

Dickey added a two-run homer in the third inning and a two-run single in the fourth, accounting for five of UNC’s eight RBIs on the evening.

Freshman second baseman Erin Satterfield was responsible for the Tar Heels’ other three RBIs, which came on a three-run blast in the fourth inning.

“I was pretty comfortable (at the plate),” Dickey said. “Coming off a rough weekend, I was just trying to have a good day.”

After hitting the first batter she faced, Spingola quickly collected herself. In four innings on the mound, the junior tallied seven strikeouts while only allowing one hit en route to her 24th win of the season.

“I kind of started off a little bit shaky,” Spingola said. “But throughout the game I just tried to get ahead on my hitters by throwing lots of pitches and catching them with strikes.”

Spingola said the main difference between Wednesday night and UNC’s 3-1 series-deciding loss to N.C. State on Sunday was the combined effort the Tar Heel offense and defense put forth against the Pirates.

Heading into the end of its season, UNC (34-15, 10-5 ACC) will face Georgia Tech in its last home ACC series this weekend.

For Spingola, the focus heading into the series is simple — to display a similar team effort on offense and defense in the same way UNC did against the Pirates.

“Personally, I need to keep their hitters on the bases and take away the long ball,” Spingola said. “In terms of our hitters, I think we have a great chance of lighting up their pitching.

“The goal is just to sweep them. We want to win all three games.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.