Virginia squeezes out victory

It was only a slight tap that rolled barely three feet in front of the plate.

It doesn’t seem like much, but despite scattering seven other solid hits on the day, a suicide squeeze was all it took for Virginia (20-25, 7-4 in the ACC) to defeat North Carolina (30-23, 5-7) in the top of the sixth inning at the UNC Softball Complex on Sunday.

With one out and two strikes on her, Cavalier cleanup hitter Jenn Wynn, who just a day earlier pounded a home run off of Tar Heel ace Crystal Cox, laid a bunt softly down the third base line. Virginia’s Elea Crockett blazed home from third, and though a charging Joslin Higgins fielded it cleanly, the toss to catcher Whitney Gelin was too late, putting UVa. ahead for good, 3-2.

“It was definitely the element of surprise,” said UNC coach Donna Papa. “They executed it, and we didn’t complete the play.”

The play was set up when UNC’s Alison Yin walked Crockett on a close inside pitch. Yin was promptly replaced by Cox, but Crockett quickly stole second base and advanced to third on an overthrow by Gelin. Then came Wynn’s turn.

SOFTBALL Virginia 3 UNC 2 Virginia 2 UNC 0 Virginia 4 UNC 1

“That was really gutsy play on 0-and-2 to put a bunt down in that situation,” Cox said. “I don’t’ think we were expecting it. They executed, and we didn’t.”

Virginia starter Coty Tolar silenced the UNC bats for the first half of the game, allowing no runs through the first three innings. Then, in the bottom of the fourth, it looked as though UNC was about to come back to life.

Left fielder Marissa May ignited the inning by hustling out a bunt single and advancing on an Anna Evans sacrifice bunt.

For a moment, it looked as though the white rally helmets that the Tar Heels sported in the dugout had worked when UNC’s Jessica Young belted a first-pitch, two-run home run to right-center field.

“I was just looking to do anything I could to help the team, especially since the girl in front of me put down the sacrifice bunt,” Young said. “I think just naturally all the weight’s on your shoulders. The girl on first … it’s your responsibility to manufacture that run.”

On a day meant to honor the team’s two seniors, Young and pitcher Ashley Allen, it seemed appropriate that Young met the offensive challenge.

“Jess definitely stepped up,” Papa said. “She helped us get back in the game, and that’s why it’s even more disappointing when we tied it up to then let them score the next inning.”

But besides the long ball, the Tar Heels mustered only three other hits, two of which came from the slap-hitter May off a pitcher they tagged for four runs in a 4-1 win against the Cavaliers Saturday.

“I don’t think we were aggressive enough,” Papa said. “I didn’t like our approach. I thought we were flat.”

The pitching staff also struggled, deviating from a pair of solid Saturday performances in which Cox garnered 18 total strikeouts in a 4-1 win and 0-2 loss against UVa.

Starting on her end of Senior Day, Allen took the Tar Heels through 3 1/3 innings with four strikeouts before coming out when a line drive barely missed her head.

UNC’s offensive performance this weekend was also hindered by the absence of cleanup hitter Casey Testa, who will likely miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

“My goal is for us to position ourselves for the end of the season for who you’re going to face,” Papa said. “These games have a lot of weight on them, and not to perform in it in the way that I feel like we should is truly disappointing.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.