The North Carolina softball team used Wednesday’s midweek matchup against UNC-Greensboro as an opportunity to showcase all five pitchers on its roster.
The Tar Heels had an 11-game win streak snapped against the Spartans in a 6-3 loss on March 8. In the rematch against UNC-G, the North Carolina pitching staff propelled the defense in a 2-0 victory.
First-year Brittany Pickett was the starting pitcher for the Tar Heels (27-8) on Wednesday, leading the way with four strikeouts over the course of the first two innings.
Pickett is the only first-year pitcher on the team to have thrown a complete game so far this season, along with senior Kendra Lynch. The Tar Heels have recorded a total of six shutouts this season, and Pickett has made an appearance on the mound in each of them.
“Pickett is doing an awesome job, she’s a workhorse,” Lynch said. “She’s going to take us far and she’s only going to continue to get better every year that she’s here.”
First-year Hannah Nommensen took over for Pickett in the third inning before redshirt sophomore Sydney Matzko made an appearance on the mound in the fourth. First-year Kellyn Daly has not been on the mound much for the Tar Heels this season, but she replaced Matzko in the fifth inning.
Over the course of those three innings, the Spartans (20-14) stranded five runners on base.
Lynch made her presence known in the top of the sixth with a three up, three down inning that featured a strikeout. She closed out the game in the seventh inning with a strikeout to finish the combined shutout.
“We felt like using five pitchers was a great way to keep UNC-Greensboro off balance,” head coach Donna Papa said. “We showed a few different looks on the mound, so the batters could never really get settled in on one style of pitching.”
