The UNC softball team (13-10, 1-1 ACC) gets a couple late runs to get the 5-3 victory against Boston College (12-8, 1-1 ACC) and avenge its loss earlier in the day.
What happened?
Senior starting pitcher Hannah George got off to a good start, keeping the Eagles hitless in the opening inning. After having difficulties on offense in the first game of the doubleheader, the Tar Heels were on the scoreboard at their first at-bat, getting a leadoff home run from junior outfielder Bri Stubbs. Later in the first inning, senior catcher Taylor Greene got a single to put runners on first and second base. A Boston College error got one of those runners home to make it a 2-0 game.
After junior infielder Katie Perkins got an error, she responded by getting a double play to keep the Eagles scoreless midway through the second inning. At the bottom of the same inning, junior Destiny Middleton stole second base and caused another Eagle misthrow to advance to third base. However, North Carolina was not able to convert with Middleton in a good scoring position.
UNC’s third hit came in the third inning when graduate transfer shortstop Sara Jubas crushed a line-drive ball towards the left side of the outfield. The Tar Heels got another single thanks to first-year utility player Alex Brown to load the bases, but they couldn’t translate it into any runs.
Both offenses went cold due to solid pitching on both ends. While neither pitcher had many strikeouts, they made it hard on the batters by forcing groundouts. But the drought was broken in the fifth inning by a Boston College home run to tie the game at two. After the Tar Heels left runners on base, the Eagles almost had another home run but the ball fell inches short of the wall and into the glove of Stubbs.
Despite the Eagles just missing out on a home run, they were able to get multiple runners on base and got a run off of a fielder's choice to take a 3-2 lead. However, the inning wasn’t done just yet. A walk gave Boston College three runners on base, but the Tar Heels prevented any more scores.
After two walks and an errant pitch, North Carolina had runners on second and third base with Jubas at the plate. With no more outs to spare in the sixth inning, the former James Madison Duke Dog sent a clutch double to center field to give her team a 4-3 advantage. A Greene single at the next at-bat gave the Tar Heels a two-run lead.
The Eagles stayed alive with a single in the seventh inning, but Stubbs caught a fly to get the final out and clinch a 5-3 victory.
