Virginia Splits Saturday Doubleheader With North Carolina
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Box Score April 16, 2016
Box Score – Game 1 | Box Score – Game 2
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia (14-28, 4-10 ACC) softball team split a doubleheader with North Carolina (24-20, 8-9 ACC) at The Park on Saturday afternoon, grabbing a 7-1 win in game one before falling 10-8 in game two.
The two teams will play the deciding game of the series at noon on Sunday. It will also be Senior Day for Virginia as it’s the final ACC home game of the season for the Cavaliers. Admission to all games is free and fans can follow the action through live stats and audio linked at VirginiaSports.com.
Allie Arneson (Aledo, Texas) paced the offense in the win, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI – including a solo home run. Katie Park (Scottsdale, Ariz.) paced game two, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI.
Game 1
Virginia 7, North Carolina 1
Erika Osherow (Darien, Conn.) kept the Tar Heels in check in the first game, picking up the win to improve to 11-17 on the season. She allowed one run on seven hits with a walk on the way to the complete-game performance.
Arneson opened the first inning with a solo shot to right field as the Cavaliers took the early lead on the Tar Heels. North Carolina answered right back with a solo shot from Kristen Brown to open the second inning and the game was tied 1-1.
Arneson again got a chance to make something happen with the bases loaded and two outs in the second. An infield single to second resulted in two runs as the freshman slid in ahead of the ball as the Tar Heel second baseman made a nice sliding catch and toss to force the issue. Tia Mitchell (Clarksburg, Md.) and Lacy Smith (Lancaster, Pa.) came home to score on the play. Virginia lead 3-1 after the second inning.
Allison Davis (Oak Hill, Va.) took the lead out to 4-1 in the fifth inning with a solo shot to left field. The lead grew more as back-to-back doubles from Kaitlin Fitzgerald (Placentia, Calif.) and Park gave Virginia the 5-1 lead and sent North Carolina to its bullpen.
An infield single from Danni Ingraham (Laguna Nigel, Calif.) brought a sixth run home and a throwing error on the play left two runners in scoring position for the Cavaliers. A walk loaded the bases for Virginia before North Carolina would get back-to-back outs to end the inning with the Cavaliers up 6-1.
An RBI single from Park in the sixth inning continued to build on the Cavalier lead after Arneson was hit by a pitch and Fitzgerald hit one to left field to put two runners on base.
Virginia then kept the Tar Heels off the board in the seventh to claim the opening game of the doubleheader.
Game 2
North Carolina 10, Virginia 8
Smith took the loss for the Cavaliers in the second game of the day, falling to 2-8 on the season. She allowed nine runs – eight of them earned – on nine hits with a strikeout in 3.1 innings of work. Davis closed out the final 3.2 innings, allowing one run on two hits with two walks.
North Carolina got off to a quick start in game two, taking advantage of a pair of errors and timely hits to push three runs across the plate. The Cavaliers would load the bases in the home half, but the Tar Heels would not surrender a run to hold a 3-0 lead after the first inning of play.
Virginia loaded the bases again in the second inning, but this time was able to convert with an RBI single from Fitzgerald to put the Cavaliers on the board. Park then followed it up with another RBI single as the Cavaliers got two runs with station-to-station softball.
Iyana Hughes (Manteca, Calif.) then put the Cavaliers on top with a two-RBI single. The Cavaliers continued the scoring with an RBI single from Ingraham as Virginia took a 5-3 lead on the Tar Heels after the second inning of play.
North Carolina got a solo shot to open the third inning and cut the lead back to one run at 5-4.
The Tar Heels moved back in front in the fourth inning, pushing six runs across the plate to move to a 10-5 lead. North Carolina used five hits, a hit batter and a walk to put together the rally that would prove to be too much for the Cavaliers to overcome.
Park delivered a two-run shot in the seventh inning to cut into the Tar Heel lead, before the Cavaliers would get two runners in scoring position with two outs. Aimee Chapdelaine (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) legged out an infield single to bring a third run home in the inning and cut the lead to two.
The Cavaliers couldn’t get anything else across as North Carolina recorded the final out and clinched game two of the twin bill.
Game 1
Virginia 7, North Carolina 1 (Apr 16, 2016 at Charlottesville, Va.)
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North Carolina…… 010 000 0 – 1 7 2 (23-20, 7-9 ACC)
Virginia………… 120 031 X – 7 10 0 (14-27, 4-9 ACC)
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Pitchers: North Carolina – Kendra Lynch; Lauren Fuller(5) and Katie Bailiff. Virginia – and Katie Park.
Win-Erika Osherow(11-17) Loss-Kendra Lynch(19-15) T-1:40 A-0
HR NC – Kristen Brown (15).
HR VA – Allie Arneson (4); Allison Davis (3).
Weather: 72, Sunny
Game 2
North Carolina 10, Virginia 8 (Apr 16, 2016 at Charlottesville, Va.)
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North Carolina…… 301 600 0 – 10 11 0 (24-20, 8-9 ACC)
Virginia………… 050 000 3 – 8 13 3 (14-28, 4-10 ACC)
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Pitchers: North Carolina – Kendra Lynch and Katie Bailiff. Virginia – ; Allison Davis(4) and Katie Park.
Win-Kendra Lynch(20-15) Loss-Lacy Smith(2-8) T-2:23 A-0
HR NC – Kristen Brown (16).
HR VA – Katie Park (7).
Weather: 72, Sunny