The North Carolina softball team met some serious power hitting against N.C. State on Wednesday evening. Hits came early and often for the Wolfpack (13-11, 2-1 ACC) in a 7-2 win that looked like a home run derby early on.
The Wolfpack opened the scoring in the top of the second inning with a two-run home run from junior Hannah Yeager. But the Tar Heels (13-12, 2-2 ACC) took the hit in stride and quickly responded.
Junior Kendra Lynch hit a home run to lead off the bottom of the second inning and cut the lead in half. Sophomore Taylor Wike followed up with a solo home run of her own, making the score 2-2.
This was final scoring run for UNC, however.
N.C. State took the lead back the very next inning with another two-run home run. With the score at 4-2 going into the fourth inning, senior Maggie Hawkins blasted a three-run home run to push the lead to five. This proved to be too much for the Tar Heels.
One of the last chances for North Carolina came in the bottom of sixth. With the bases loaded and only one out, UNC looked to trim the lead yet again. But it was not to be. Wike struck out swinging and first year Leah Murray hit a fly ball out in left field.
“The game of softball is a game of failure. When you fail, you've got to learn how to recover,” senior Kristen Brown said.
“So we’re just going to recover and be confident at the plate. We’re a big hitting team and we just have to prove that.”
