The UNC softball team (7-9) defeated Winthrop (10-4) Tuesday afternoon, 7-1, at Anderson Softball Stadium in Chapel Hill.
What happened?
Sloppy play contributed to an early lead for the Eagles. A dropped fly ball off Kiersten Licea’s glove in right field and a hit-by-pitch handed Winthrop a run. Baily McCachren was pulled after just a third of an inning, the second time this season she was unable to get out of the first. Kenna Raye Dark came in and induced a double play to stop any further damage.
Three walks would give Tar Heels a bases-loaded opportunity of their own in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore shortstop Alex Brown converted the chance with a bases-clearing double into the left-center gap, and UNC took a 3-1 lead into the second inning.
Dark continued her dominant outing in relief in the third by retiring the Eagles in order. Winthrop showed sloppy play of their own in the bottom of the third. With Aneshia Jordan on second, the Eagle shortstop made a diving play to her right but overthrew the outstretched glove of the third baseman. Jordan rounded third and headed home to add to the Tar Heel lead.
Dark found her first trouble in the fourth. After allowing her first two hits of the outing, the Eagles had bases loaded and just one out. She escaped unscathed, though, by forcing two popups, one to the second baseman and the other to the catcher.
The Tar Heels blew the doors open in the fifth. Brown added her second hit of the game with an infield single, and Jordan scored all the way from second base with Winthrop defenders paying her no attention. The next batter, Redshirt junior Kianna Jones, brought Brown home with a double off the base of the left-field wall. Carlie Myrtle added another run with a double of her own, and the Tar Heels ended the fifth with a 7-1 lead.
Winthrop managed a double in the seventh, but Dark capped off her afternoon with a deep flyout to the warning track in left field, delivering UNC the six-run victory.
