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The Daily Tar Heel

Sixth-inning struggle dooms softball

The Tar Heels allowed James Madison to score three runs in the sixth inning of both games to pull away during Wednesday’s double-header, losing both games by scores of 5-1 and 7-2 . The two defeats drop UNC to 22-22 overall and also mark the first time the softball program has ever lost to JMU .

“We just weren’t on our toes as much as we needed to be, and they took advantage of that,” said sophomore second baseman Erin Satterfield .

JMU opened up a 2-1 lead through four innings in the first game before sophomore relief pitcher Jailyn Ford entered the game. UNC failed to score the rest of the way and kept it close until the sixth inning, where they were buried.

“We got two quick outs,” said freshman pitcher Kendra Lynch . “One thing just leads to another.”

In the second game, UNC doubled its scoring, but after a home run by Satterfield, Ford came in and shut down UNC. UNC also allowed JMU to score all seven of its runs in the first and sixth innings.

“When we lose focus, things kind of all build off of each other,” Lynch said.

Satterfield was one of the few bright spots for the Tar Heels. She had hits in both games resulting in runs for UNC, the second a home run. Sophomore shortstop Kristen Brown added two hits and an RBI in the second game .

But the potent Tar Heels offense, fresh off a 15-run performance against Georgia Tech on Sunday , could not generate anything close to a similar performance.

Multiple Tar Heels credited Ford’s pitching for keeping their offense off balance. Ford pitched nine innings in total, allowing only one hit while striking out 16 Tar Heel batters. Her rise ball was her deadliest weapon, luring multiple Tar Heels into swinging at pitches they had planned not to.

“We just didn’t make the right adjustments,” Satterfield said. “We need to figure out how to pull it together the last couple innings and stay with the game plan and what we know how to do.”

While not completely to blame, playing on the road in the middle of the week had an adverse effect. This year, UNC has a 3-9 record in midweek games . That was apparent in the defensive collapses near the end of both games.

“I thought for the most part we made the plays,” Lynch said.

“Just a bad day.”

sports@dailytarheel.com

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