Cox seals dramatic win

The North Carolina softball team asked for big things from junior pitcher Crystal Cox and freshman first baseman Casey Testa during a weekend series against ACC doormat Virginia Tech at the UNC Softball Complex.

What they got might have surprised them, but it undoubtedly shocked the Hokies.

Following a split the day before, Sunday’s rubber game featured a rematch between Saturday’s game-one starting pitchers Cox and Hokie Angela Tincher. Both hurlers were equally as sharp as the day before, and neither allowed a run until North Carolina broke through in the bottom of the sixth en route to a 1-0 victory.

SOFTBALL Virginia Tech 0 UNC 1 Virginia Tech 1 UNC 11 Virginia Tech 2 UNC 1

Sophomore shortstop Anna Evans led off the inning with a walk and was moved to second on clean-up hitter Testa’s flawlessly executed sacrifice bunt.

Although the right play at the right time, Testa’s bunt caught Virginia Tech (33-12, 2-7 in the ACC) off-guard, considering that just a day before, they nearly got whiplash watching her crack a grand slam and were probably expecting the Tar Heel slugger to swing away.

“The bunt, I knew I could do it because that’s what I had to do, and I was going to do it for my team,” Testa said. “I don’t care, as long as we move the runner over.”

After Evans advanced to third on a passed ball, sophomore catcher Whitney Gelin needed one pitch to send a screaming liner to right field that scored Evans and gave the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead.

Hokie leadoff batter Caroline Stolle reached first on an error to start the seventh, but North Carolina (27-21, 4-5) and Cox put the clamp on to ensure a victory. Tar Heel third baseman Joslin Higgins made a slick fielding play to throw out Stolle at second on a botched sacrifice attempt by Virginia Tech. A strike out and pop out later sealed the series victory for the Tar Heels.

“We ended up on the short end of (game one), but I loved how we came back in the second game,” said North Carolina coach Donna Papa. “That momentum helped us coming into (Sunday) — we believed we could win.”

The series opener was a disappointment for the Tar Heels, who struck early, but not often. In the bottom of the first, Gelin tripled and was driven in by freshman Jennifer Jacobs’ single up the middle for North Carolina’s lone run.

Cox cruised until a troublesome fifth inning. With runners at second and third and two outs, Hokie senior Megan Evans lined a Cox offering to left field that was misplayed and allowed the decisive runs to score in a 2-1 loss.

Following a frustrating effort in game one, the Tar Heel bats awakened in the second tilt — tying a season high for most runs in a game. In the first inning alone, North Carolina sent 13 batters to the plate, drew six walks, had four hits, knocked out two pitchers and tallied seven runs.

While the Hokies managed their only run in the top of the third, the real fireworks came in the bottom half of the inning when Testa jacked her two-out grand slam that staked the Tar Heels to the eventual final score of 11-1. The home run was Testa’s team-leading sixth this season and the first grand slam of her young career.

“(Saturday) was not a good hitting day for me, and I came back with that,” Testa said. “It felt great.”

Although Cox was backed by only two runs over 14 innings of work during the weekend, Saturday’s second game, 11-run outburst was more than enough for senior Ashley Allen to comfortably earn her seventh win of the season.

“I was excited for Ashley because it’s definitely easier to pitch when you have run support,” Cox said. “Most softball games are going to be 1-0 against good teams … so I was really excited that we got the job done when it came.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.