Sept. 30, 2008

Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina softball team opened the fall season in impressive fashion over the weekend as the Tar Heels went 4-0 in the Carolina Fall Classic. The Tar Heels posted wins over St. Andrews (6-0), Longwood (2-0), Elon (8-0) and NC Central (6-0). Carolina will close out the fall portion of its schedule Sunday, Oct. 5 in Charlotte when the Tar Heels take on UNC Greensboro and Charlotte in a pair of games.

Breanna Brown started the weekend off on a high note as she laced the first pitch she saw for a triple and would score following a sacrifice fly off the bat of Anna Roberts as the Tar Heels jumped out to a 1-0 lead on St. Andrews. The Tar Heels would tack on five more runs over the next six innings with single runs in the third, fourth and sixth while posting a pair of runs in the fifth and seventh innings. Freshman Constance Orr allowed just one hit on the day as she struck out eight in her seven innings of work.

Game two was a little closer for the Tar Heels but featured another dominating pitching performance, this time from senior Lisa Norris. The Snellville, Ga. native, struck out 18 in seven innings of work, while allowing a lone hit. The Tar Heel offense was held in check by Longwood until the bottom of the sixth when Stephanie Murad led off the inning by drawing a walk. Christine Knauer would follow with an infield single to put runners at first and second with no one out before Dani Manko dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Longwood would intentionally walk Brown to load the bases for pinch hitter Anna Roberts. A wild pitch would put Carolina ahead 1-0 before Roberts notched her second sacrifice fly of the day to give the Tar Heels a 2-0 win.

The Tar Heels got another stellar performance from Norris in their battle against Elon as she posted her second shutout of the weekend as Carolina captured an 8-0, five-inning win. The Tar Heels were held scoreless through the opening three frames before turning the switch on the offense in the bottom of the fourth. Leah Francona led off the inning with a single and moved to second when Whitney Allen dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Alyssa Francona reached on a throwing error by the third baseman putting runners at the corners for Norris who would help herself out as she crushed a pitch to left field for a three-run home run. Brittany Robinson and Brittany McKinney would follow with a walk and a single before Kelli Wheeler walked to load the bases. Another walk, this time by Murad, would make the score 4-0 and Brown would add two more RBIs to her total with a gap shot to left field. An RBI single off the bat of Whitney Allen would push the lead to 7-0 before Roberts scored from second on a passed ball as the catcher struggled to find the ball and put Carolina within three outs of the 8-0 win.

Carolina kept the offense rolling in its final game of the weekend as the Tar Heels pushed across a run in the first, two in the second and three in the third in their battle with NC Central. Kelsey Green and Dani Manko paced the offense against the Eagles as they combined to go 4-7 and scored two runs apiece. Brittany McKinney tallied a solo homer to lead off the top of the third before a throwing error would score two runs pushing the final score to 6-0.

The Tar Heels will close out the fall schedule on Sunday in Charlotte with Carolina facing off against UNC Greensboro and Charlotte. The Tar Heels will meet the Spartans and 49ers in a pair of single games.