It was their self-described “Championship Sunday” — a chance to seize first place in the ACC.
But instead of the North Carolina softball players claiming a prizefighter’s belt, it was their coach who came out swinging after two “really disappointing” setbacks.
“I hope they’re angry, and I hope they want to do better,” coach Donna Papa said after Florida State swept UNC in a doubleheader Sunday in Tallahassee, Fla., to end the three-game series.
“I’m very, very disappointed,” she said. “I hope they’re just as disappointed as me and willing to go back to work and get better.”
Getting better begins with finding some timely hitting, which has recently proven more elusive to UNC than Carmen San Diego.
The Tar Heels stranded eight runners on base in their 3-1 loss Sunday afternoon, including three in the top of the seventh inning with two outs, when third baseman Haleigh Dickey struck out with the bases loaded.
“We’re getting hits, but they’re not productive, and we’re not getting them at the right time,” an audibly frustrated Papa said by phone.
UNC salvaged a third of the weekend with a 5-4 win Saturday on the strength of Amber Parrish’s two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning.
Parrish belted the first pitch she saw from FSU workhorse Lacey Waldrop (12-4), who also started the back end of Sunday’s doubleheader for the Seminoles. It was a rare display of confidence from UNC’s batter’s box — when the bats are hot and the hits contagious, Parrish says, the Heels become a dangerous opponent.
