Softball sweeps Charlotte in doubleheader

Holding a comfortable three-run lead, North Carolina pitcher Ashley Allen was cruising, having allowed just one run and four hits through the first five innings of her team’s softball game against UNC-Charlotte on Wednesday at the UNC Softball Complex.

But there was only one problem — softball games last seven innings, not five.

So when Allen surrendered two unexpected runs and allowed four of the first five batters she faced in the sixth inning to reach base, UNC (7-0) appeared to be in trouble.

That’s when reliever Alison Yin stepped in.

Although she replaced Allen with one out and runners at second and third, the junior managed to escape without further damage and carry the Tar Heels to a 4-3 victory in the second game of a doubleheader.

“I had a lot of confidence in (Yin), and I needed to be taken out,” Allen said. “With her change up, (I knew) she was going to keep them off balance.”

Coach Donna Papa said the contrast between Allen’s suddenly ineffective signature pitch — the dropball — and Yin’s change-up was the biggest reason for the reliever’s success.

“I think there’s a point in the game where the hitters start catching up to the pitcher, and then you may need to give them a different look,” Papa said. “Ashley is a good dropball pitcher and provides decent velocity, and (Yin) is more offspeed, so we thought that she might throw them off.”

Allen agreed, though she wasn’t sure why her dropball became increasingly hittable in the later innings.

“It just kind of stopped working,” Allen said. “It wasn’t breaking like it was at the beginning of the game. I don’t know if it was my shoulder being tight or if it was the pressure with the runners on base, but it just wasn’t breaking or working like I needed it to. … I don’t know if I had sat in the dugout too long or if I was getting tired or what.”

Although the causes of Allen’s decline were debatable, one thing that wasn’t was the effectiveness of Yin, who recorded her first save of the season and preserved the win for Allen.

She dodged the 49ers’ biggest threat immediately, getting the first hitter she faced to nail a sharp ground ball to second baseman Julia Bove that appeared to be enough to score the runner from third. But Bove immediately fired the ball to catcher Theresa Nicholas, who alertly blocked the plate and prevented the tying run from crossing.

“We wanted to make sure that if the runner went that we would cut it to go home,” Papa said. “I think we had to take that chance. If you didn’t, you’re like, ‘Gosh, why didn’t we try?’ I feel like our infielders have good enough arms (that) you gotta go for it … because that could be the run that ties the game.”

It was smooth sailing after that for Yin. She struck out the final batter in the sixth — stranding a runner at third — and quietly retired Charlotte (2-3) in the seventh to end the game.

In the first game of the twinbill, pitching was again the story as UNC ace Crystal Cox hurled a gem to improve to 3-0 on the year. The junior fanned eight and walked only one en route to a complete game 3-1 victory.

“Since her freshman year, she’s been doing that game in and game out,” Papa said. “She’s one of our most durable pitchers. … Crystal seems to be able to go the distance.”

Although pitching deservedly garnered most of the attention for UNC, a few Tar Heels stood out on offense as well.

Sophomores Marissa May and Joslin Higgins each went 3-for-6 on the day, while freshman Casey Testa was 2-for-4.

And after jumping out to their best start since beginning the 2000 season 10-0, the Tar Heels have laid a strong foundation for accomplishing one of their primary objectives for the year — holding serve at home.

“We call it ‘Heels’ House,’” Papa said. “It’s just our sense of pride, kind of defending our home turf, not letting anybody that comes in our house beat us. We’re not going to let anybody do that to us here — that’s kind of our motto.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.