Softball seniors come away with a pair of historic upsets against Florida State

The North Carolina softball team headed into the series against No. 3 Florida State knowing that it would be one of the toughest challenges of the season. Weather postponed the first game of the series to Sunday, followed by a doubleheader Monday evening.

That didn’t stop UNC from coming away with a series win in which players and fans alike recognized the amount of the time and effort the seniors have put into the team throughout their careers. North Carolina dropped the first game, 6-8, but swept the doubleheader, earning 6-5 and 1-0 victories to post the first top-five wins in program history.

Going into Sunday, the Tar Heels (26-14, 13-5 ACC) had won seven of their last eight games, while FSU (38-7, 10-5 ACC) had just lost two of three games in its last series to Louisville. The Seminoles’ strong form was slipping, and UNC made sure to capitalize, as senior Berlynne Delamora pointed out after the final game.

“Anybody could win any given day,” Delamora said. “And we noticed that Florida State’s demeanors looked as if they were stressed. So, we just came in and got the job done.”

A factor in FSU’s apparent stress was certainly North Carolina’s narrow defeat in Sunday’s game. The game was tied, 4-4, before the Seminoles cranked out three runs thanks to a solo home run and a triple down the left field line in the final two innings.

Head Coach Donna Papa was determined to let her squad know that they shouldn’t count themselves out of the series based off one game.

“We stayed tough,” Papa said. “We always fight until the last inning and the last pitch. I’m really proud of our team for having that grit.”

The Tar Heels carried that grit all the way into extra innings of game two of the series. With two outs in the top of the seventh inning and a 4-3 lead, UNC gave up a single over second base, allowing FSU to score the tying run.

Thanks to a spectacular diving catch in center field by senior Kiani Ramsey for the third out, North Carolina was able to escape the inning and go on to win in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Delamora singled to left center field, and Ramsey scored the winning run after going 3-4 that afternoon. Ramsey commented on how much the combination of the win and Senior Day meant to her.

“It’s really just an honor to be celebrated in such a way that you just know you’re loved by so many people,” Ramsey said. “…I couldn’t have been happier with how it ended up.”

Delamora echoed those sentiments and described how the team was able to come together for the rally.

“This weekend could not have been more perfect,” Delamora said. “We played as a team, and we showed how tough we are as a whole unit.”

Heading into the second half of Monday’s doubleheader, UNC was forced to display how far down the depth chart that toughness resonated.

Junior Brittany Pickett had pitched every inning of the first two games in the series and made some big time plays at the plate, hitting a pair of home runs during Sunday’s game. Throughout those first two games, Pickett threw 13 strikeouts, one of which was the 500th of her career, a mark that only six other Tar Heels have ever reached.

Those performances had clearly taken a toll on Pickett, and Papa turned to first-year Hannah George to pitch the final game.

George entered the game with a record of 8-4 and came up clutch for North Carolina, as she managed to throw a complete game shutout. As a team, the Seminoles combined to hit .136 against George and batted 0-7 with two outs in the final game of the series.

Papa went on to speak about how happy she was to see her players’ hard work pay off after the upset.

“I absolutely love it. They deserve it,” Papa said. “They have put in so much time in the hitting facility. They have been selfless, they’ve made sacrifices and they’ve put in the time.”

@McMastersJ

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