UNC softball struggles at the plate in series loss to Georgia Tech

In a tough conference matchup, Georgia Tech emerged victorious against the North Carolina softball team this weekend, winning two of three games and handing the Tar Heels their first ACC series loss of the year.

In the past four games, the Tar Heels (16-12, 6-3 ACC) have only managed 11 runs while allowing 19, going 1-3 in that stretch. This included a 13-run outburst from Georgia Tech (22-12, 5-4 ACC) in Saturday's game, leading to an eight-run loss for UNC, matching the Tar Heels' largest margin of defeat of the season.

The Saturday loss was preceded by a strong showing to start the weekend, a 4-1 North Carolina victory on Friday. But on Sunday, squandered opportunities with runners on base led to a 3-2 loss to the Yellow Jackets, giving Georgia Tech the series victory.

Struggling to produce runs is not characteristic for North Carolina, a team that before this weekend was regularly dominating its opponents offensively. In their most recent series against Boston College, the Tar Heels won two of three games by mercy rule and churned out eight and nine runs in those two wins.

“With hitting, we just need to get more confidence," associate head coach Mary Jo Firnbach said. "We have some people that are a little bit more hesitant in the box, and we need to start taking charge of some at-bats, which I know we can do."

With a few days before traveling to ECU for a game on Wednesday, the Tar Heel coaches can work with the players one-on-one to polish their swings.

"The focus hitting-wise is just to break the swing down a little bit, whether it be their hand path is struggling or they just don’t feel set with their lower half,” Firnbach said. "Each person is going to have an opportunity to practice those things before we head to our next game.”

While the hitting may be a bit slow for North Carolina at the moment, there are still positives on the defensive side, and the coaches believe the team just needs to put it all together.

“Campbell Hutcherson is doing a phenomenal job at first base," Firnbach said, "and doing a great job of picking balls that aren’t great throws, making some diving plays and putting it all together." 

While Firnbach also credited other players for their effort on the defensive end, she stressed the need to improve in "areas that aren’t flowing together and forcing us to chase our tails a little bit.”

Putting those players alongside the star pitching of junior Brittany Pickett, who has a 1.56 earned run average on the year, the Tar Heels have a scary defensive lineup. Pickett pitched the entirety of the first and the third games in the series, allowing just four total runs in 14 innings.

“I think we’re pretty solid defensively; I just think we need to put it all together," Firnbach said. “We have to be more active hitters. We talked about that in the huddle, about making the right decision about what pitch you want to swing at.”

The Tar Heels will need to listen to their coaches, who are telling them to focus on one game at a time.

“Among the bad thoughts, we had some positives," Pickett said. "(The coaches) tell us to take it day by day, get our work done and hopefully get some more wins."

@AndrewMontross

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com