North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
38-18
UNC-Chapel Hill (Semifinal)
18-38
Softball’s Late Rally Not Enough As Pack Falls To Heels In ACC Championship Semifinal
5/12/2017 6:35:00 PM | Softball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Despite a two-run rally in the seventh inning to cut its deficit to one, the NC State softball team fell to UNC-Chapel Hill 8-7 on Friday evening in the ACC Championship semifinal at Anderson Stadium.
The Wolfpack concludes the season with an 18-38 record, while the Tar Heels improve to 38-18 and advance to the championship final Saturday where they will face top-seeded Florida State.
"If you go to the fifth inning, we got a bad hop. It was a double play up the middle, and it took a tough hop on Alyssa (Compton) and instead of it being a double play with no one on with two outs it went to nobody out and a big inning started happening. It was a difference in part of the game. We made some mistakes early that hurt us in the first inning that led to their runs. Our resiliency this whole year with some tough losses and battling back. I was expecting us to get back and get a chance. We had a runner on third to tie it up in the top of the seventh. I would have expected that to happen from our team."
Game Rewind
-The Heels jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a three-run blast to center field and solo shot to left field.
-The next three innings were scoreless, and the Pack scored five runs on six hits in the fifth. Back-to-back outfield singles by Cheyenne Balzer and Molly Martin followed by Macauley Prickett's bunt single loaded the bases for Jade Caraway, who cleared the bases with a triple to right center. Tyler Ross followed with a triple to right center to score Caraway and tie the game at four, and then scored on Molly Hutchison's single up the middle.
-UNC took a one-run lead in the bottom frame with a 2-RBI single by Destiny DeBerry to right field on loaded bases. A bunt single reloaded the bases, which was followed by another 2-RBI single up the middle by Taylor Wike to give her team an 8-5 lead.
-NC State rallied in the seventh, cutting its deficit to one. Haylee Kobziak went yard to left field and pinch hitter Brittany Nimmo then drove in pinch runner Natalie Jones from first with a double down the left field line. The rally wasn't enough though as the next two batters were retired on groundouts to end the game.
Inside The Box Score
-Balzer recorded the team's 20th double play of the season in the second inning, catching a line out and tagging the runner coming back to first.
-Caraway's triple in the fifth inning marked her fifth of the season, breaking the single season record. She also tied the single season record with 72 hits and broke the record for batting average in a single season with a .389 clip.
-Prickett led the team at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance, while Caraway tallied two hits in her four at-bats.
Congrats to @peeytonn34 and @jessielinmoore on being named to the #ACCSB All-Tournament Team! pic.twitter.com/oCK36cU3j6
— PackSoftball (@PackSoftball) May 13, 2017
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kendra Lynch (11-4)
L: Silverman, Peyton (13-24)
S: Brittany Pickett (6)
Batting:
2B: Nimmo, Brittany 1
3B: Caraway, Jade 1 ; Ross, Tyler 1
HR: Kobziak, Haylee 1
RBI: Caraway, Jade 3 ; Ross, Tyler 1 ; Hutchison, Molly 1 ; Kobziak, Haylee 1 ; Nimmo, Brittany 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Caraway, Jade 1 ; Ross, Tyler 1 ; Kobziak, Haylee 1 ; Jones, Natalie 1 ; Balzer, Cheyenne 1 ; Martin, Molly 1 ; Prickett, Macauley 1
HBP: Compton, Alyssa 1
Batting:
HR: Kendra Lynch 1 ; Katelyn Shifflett 1
RBI: Taylor Wike 2 ; Kendra Lynch 3 ; Katelyn Shifflett 1 ; Destiny DeBerry 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Leah Murray 1 ; Taylor Wike 1 ; Kendra Lynch 1 ; Berlynne Delamora 1 ; Brooke Burns 1 ; Katelyn Shifflett 1 ; Brittany Pickett 1 ; Destiny DeBerry 1
