After giving up a run in the top as first to the 49ers (15-8), third baseman Berlynne Delamora and designated player Kendra Lynch hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the frame. The three runs were all the Tar Heels needed to ensure a 5-1 victory, their 11th straight win of the season.
Lynch, who leads the team with seven home runs and 25 runs batted in, said the key to her season so far has been keeping the same approach every time she steps to the plate.
“I’m just trying to stay confident,” she said. “My swing feels really good so I am not trying to change anything. I feel like I am seeing the ball really well, so I am just trying to attack pitches and I like hitting early in the count.”
Infielder Katelyn Shifflett also hit a home run for the Tar Heels, who have hit 23 on the year in just 20 games. Head coach Donna Papa has been pleased with her team’s ability to hit the ball out of the park and believes it is a foundation for its success.
“It’s been great and I feel like we (normally) get three home runs in a game, like we did this past weekend,” she said. “It looked like Katelyn just went like that and it was just a line shot over and Berlynne with two strikes is always really tough, and that’s when I feel like she hits a lot of her home runs.”
Delamora also made some great plays in the field, quickly firing her throw from third base on two consecutive plays to beat the runner to first base. Her stellar defense helped starting pitcher Hannah Nommensen, who shook off a rough start to go four solid innings. Delamora was proud of her teammate’s ability to bounce back from a tough first inning.
“It shows how much heart she has,” she said. “She’s a freshman and she came in a semester early and it shows how much heart she has to bounce back.”
UNC swept Pittsburgh this past weekend to open up conference play. In the process, Papa earned her 1,200th victory, the 11th coach in NCAA softball history to hit that milestone. She is confident in her team’s ability to keep up the pace over the long haul, with 21 ACC battles yet to come in the regular season.
