Duke sweeps UNC softball after defensive lapses, lack of offense

DURHAM — A comeback was brewing in the top of the fourth inning at No. 22 Duke on Saturday. It was the second game of the series. 

The bottom of the first inning was disastrous for North Carolina. Duke earned a lead-off single, then rattled off three doubles. Junior pitcher Kenna Raye Dark replaced first-year pitcher Lilly Parrish in the circle, but it took her a while to get the game under control. By the time a pop-up foul ball ended the inning, Duke had gone through its entire batting order and led 6-0. 

Head coach Megan Smith Lyon told her team to forget about the first inning and to focus on winning the rest of the game. The defense tightened up, and UNC held the Blue Devils scoreless for two innings as the Tar Heels scored two runs. In the top of the fourth, North Carolina strung together productive at-bats. The team's five runs gave them the lead, 7-6. 

But Duke came out strong in the bottom of the frame, almost immediately putting players in scoring position. Then, with the opportunity to get the second out, junior left fielder Lexie Roberts dropped a fly ball and sent it rolling to the corner while two runs scored.

North Carolina didn’t score again and ultimately lost 14-7 on Saturday. It was the only error of the night, but it fell in a sequence of defensive lapses and stagnant offense. It resulted in a 28-10 run deficit over the three-game series. Duke swept the weekend slate. 

“That was a costly one,” Smith Lyon said. “It was unfortunate because I felt like we were in a really good spot and that really shifted things.” 

It was the bottom of the second when the momentum changed in favor of the Blue Devils in the first game. UNC went through four pitchers in the fourth inning to try and stop the bleeding. 

With the bases loaded, senior right fielder Alex Coleman caught a pop fly. The runner on third advanced home, and North Carolina tried to throw it there to prevent others from scoring. But the throw went long, giving up another run. Then, the recovery throw back to home missed again, and the bases cleared. Duke went up 4-2.

“Those are just small [mistakes] that we can't afford to make right now,” senior first baseman Carlie Myrtle said. "We have to make every routine play and unfortunately they came back to bite us.”

UNC’s pitching improved through the weekend. On Friday, it used four pitchers, allowing nine earned runs between them. On Sunday, Parrish and redshirt senior pitcher Britton Rogers went three innings each and allowed only two earned runs combined. Smith Lyon said she believes the pitchers were much more confident as the weekend progressed. 

Still, it didn't matter. 

Duke’s offense — which averaged more than nine runs in its last five wins before this weekend — had too many opportunities to get in scoring position. North Carolina’s pitchers recorded only two strikeouts in the three games to Duke’s 21. 

And, despite a tighter defense on Sunday, a pitching error and a wild pitch by Rogers put Duke’s D’Auna Jennings on second base in the fourth inning. She scored after the next batter hit a double. 

Graduate second baseman Kat Rodriguez had UNC’s best opportunity to win Sunday’s game in the top of the seventh with no outs, two on and a 2-2 count. But in a final act of dysfunction, as she waited for the pitch, the umpire called her out for stepping in too late, resulting in a pitch clock violation. 

Two quick outs came later. 

“Our best has to be better against teams like this,” graduate outfielder Kiannah Pierce said. “When you're playing a ranked team, especially when it's a rivalry, you have to step up, you have to push more.”

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