UNC softball loses focus, drops doubleheader to James Madison

The North Carolina softball team has done two things consistently this season — hit the ball and win games. But inconsistency marked the Tar Heels' play in a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon against No. 25 James Madison.

The Dukes overwhelmed UNC, taking both games by scores of 5-3 and 7-0. UNC led the first game after three innings, but a critical error gave James Madison the lead for good. The mistakes continued into the second game for UNC, which committed four more errors and was blanked in the scoring column for the first time this season.

“I didn’t like very much today,” Coach Donna Papa said. “I’m just really disappointed in game two with how we played.”

After the game, the team called a meeting to discuss the rest of the season. UNC is 21-9 and 6-2 in the ACC, but has lost four straight.

“We have to improve,” said freshman pitcher Sydney Matzko.

After the first inning of the first game, James Madison led 2-1. In the third inning, shortstop Kristen Brown hit a home run that scored her and second baseman Taylor Wike for a 3-2 Tar Heel lead. In the fourth inning, however, third baseman Erin Satterfield misplayed a simple grounder, allowing two runs to take the lead.

The Dukes would add another run in the sixth inning, while the Tar Heels didn’t record a hit in the final three innings. Their hitting drought extended into the second game. UNC didn’t record a hit until third baseman Darby Rosen hit a double in the sixth.

While UNC continued its season-long hitting excellency in the first game, notching seven hits and three runs, the Tar Heels couldn’t maintain their pace in the second game against the Dukes' pitching duo. Megan Good entered the game playing better than her name with a stellar 0.91 ERA, while Jailyn Ford plays for the U.S. Junior National Team. The tandem combined to allow only two hits to UNC in the second game.

“Credit to both pitchers, they’re very good,” Brown said. “We just didn’t hit the ball very well. We needed to make more adjustments.”

While UNC went cold at the plate, James Madison continued its torrential hitting pace from the first game. The Dukes totaled nine hits against freshman pitcher Kaylee Carlson in the first game, then blasted six of their 11 total hits against Matzko in her three innings in the second game. James Madison finished with 20 hits for the day.

While James Madison took advantage of UNC’s freshman pitchers, the Tar Heels' fielding didn’t protect their youth on the mound by committing numerous errors. Midweek games can be hard to prepare for because of distractions from the student side of student-athlete, but Brown and Matzko both denied that had anything to do with the team’s lack of focus.

“Once you cross the lines, it’s softball time,” Brown said. “We always tell each other in the locker room, ‘Everything else that’s outside, leave it behind.’”

That’s what UNC hopes to do with this doubleheader — leave it behind.  

sports@dailytarheel.com