UNC softball pitching duo of Kenna Raye Dark, Nikki Harris lead Tar Heels to undefeated weekend

A double. One walk. Two walks. Bases loaded. 

Three walks. A run scores.

 Four. Then five. Six. Seven, eight walks. 

The end of UNC softball’s stand-alone game against No. 24 South Carolina last week was a pitching struggle that saw three pitchers face the last eight batters and walk all of them. The Gamecocks scored six runs. North Carolina fell, 11-3. 

But, after several weather delays pushed UNC's first game in the 2025 Carolina Classic to Saturday, the starting duo of junior pitcher Kenna Raye Dark and sophomore pitcher Nikki Harris snapped back into form. They combined for three shutouts and a no-hitter that propelled North Carolina to a 3-0 record in the Carolina Classic at Anderson Softball Stadium. 

“Tuesday was a tough outing for our pitching staff, and very easily this weekend it could have shaken their confidence or maybe made them a little bit hesitant and none of them did that,” head coach Megan Smith Lyon said. “Kenna and Nikki both went out and they attacked hitters. They pounded the zone.” 

Dark pitched all seven innings of Saturday’s game against Maryland and Sunday night’s game against Queens. Since last season, she has worked on being unfazed in the pitcher’s circle. Lyon says her confidence and determination is what has earned her a regular starting role.

In the top of the fourth inning against Queens on Sunday night, Dark wound up and threw. She pegged the batter in the knee. With a small smile on her face, she shook her head. 

“I was like, 'Actually that was a really good pitch, her knee was just over the line,'” Dark said. “So I used it as a way to shake it off and then go to the next.” 

Dark’s next three pitches were strikes. She only allowed one hit in the game — a single in the top of the seventh inning. UNC won 4-0.

While Dark attended a funeral during the earlier game against Wagner, Harris started in the circle. It was the first time she had pitched since being replaced in the sixth inning at South Carolina. 

In the top of the fifth inning, down 11-0, Wagner searched for runs that would save them from the eight-run mercy rule. A fly out and a ground out, and Harris was one batter away from UNC’s 57th no-hitter, and its second of the season. 

“I don’t even think about it,” Harris said. “I’m just like ‘Next batter. Let's get this one done. Let's finish it out.’”

And she did, drawing one final swing to send her teammates pouring out of the dugout. 

North Carolina has relied on Dark and Harris this season. With only six pitchers on the roster, the pair have started 10 combined games, and in some cases have relieved each other. If either had needed to be relieved this weekend, there would be no clear choice for a replacement. But the hours of work they put in during practice built up the endurance required to pitch an entire game. 

And together, at the top of the pitching pecking order, the pair has become a daunting dynamic duo. 

“Me and her work very well with each other,” Dark said. “Her being a lefty and me being a righty. Her being an up pitcher, me being a down pitcher. Us together, we really pull the game together. We really throw off batters.” 

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