Illegal pitch helps Tar Heels advance to ACC semifinals

Taylor Wike stepped into the batter's box, looking to break the tie between the North Carolina softball team and Virginia Tech in the bottom of the sixth of the ACC Championship quarterfinals. 

With two Tar Heel runners occupying second and third, the Hokies opted to intentionally walk Wike, setting up a force-out situation at any base. 

The first pitch came. Ball. Then the second. Ball two. 

But before the third pitch, Wike held up her hand to the umpire, looking to call time. After the umpire granted time, Virginia Tech pitcher Maggie Tyler separated her hands and then brought them back together, constituting an illegal pitch that would advance the runners. 

Senior Lauren Walker would make the trek from third to home, giving the No. 2 seed Tar Heels what would become the winning run in their quarterfinal win against the No. 7 Hokies, 3-2. 

It wasn't the way UNC (36-13) had won its games the majority of the year, but in the postseason, with so much on the line, the Tar Heels were just happy they'd live to play another day. 

"I'll take it any way I can," said Coach Donna Papa. "I'm just happy … it's survive and advance, especially at this point in the season." 

Out of the gate, it looked like things would mirror North Carolina's long-ball style of play. In the bottom of the first, senior Amber Parrish belted her 18th home run of the season over the left-field wall to put the Tar Heels in front 2-0. 

But as play wore on, it was the UNC defense that proved to be the team's saving grace. In the top of the second with one out, North Carolina's Kaylee Carlson walked consecutive batters to set up a possible scoring chance for the Hokies (34-21). But the next batter would hit a ground ball to Wike at second, who promptly tagged one runner and threw the ball to first for the inning-ending double play. 

After the game, Carlson praised her teammates for helping pick up after her on defense.

"When I do walk the two batters or give up a couple hits together, it makes me feel so much more calm out there knowing that my defense can get me out of it," she said. "Being able to trust my defense just makes everything so much easier on me." 

Carlson and the Tar Heel defense were able to hold Virginia Tech scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, where, after two consecutive hits, Kylie McGoldrick doubled off of the center-field wall to knot the score at two. 

The Tar Heels would grab the winning run in the sixth from the illegal pitch, but the seventh inning was not without drama. Carlson would give up a two-out single to give the Hokies life but was able to settle down and strike out Virginia Tech's Michelle Prong to end the game. 

With the win, the Tar Heels advanced to the ACC Championship semifinals, but they know there were much bigger things at stake. The Tar Heels will likely need to win at least one more game to possibly grab an NCAA Tournament berth, something that is ever present in the minds of both players and coaches. 

"I think we have something to prove more so than anything," Parrish said. "We've had a phenomenal season, and just showing people what we have and coming out here and winning the ACC Tournament so they can't even question us in the NCAA Tournament is what we need to do."