String of home runs propels UNC to victory in second game

In the bottom of the sixth inning, North Carolina junior Brittany McKinney broke a 2-2 tie with a monstrous home run that she sent soaring over the foul pole in left field.

UNC’s recent power surge continued as it carried the team to a win in the second game of a double header against Campbell.

The bats are now the driving force behind North Carolina’s success as the pitching has struggled since the loss of Danielle Spaulding two weeks ago.

Sophomore Kelli Wheeler matched her two-home run performance from the day before in the first game of the double-header and watched McKinney and senior Ally Blake belt deep balls of their own in the second.

“We have a new bat,” Wheeler said, “called the magic stick.”

That power failed to mask UNC’s ever-present struggles from the mound, as the Camels kept both games close on Wednesday night.

Senior Amber Johnson was unable to hold on to a three-run Tar Heel lead in the first game, and sophomore Constance Orr — making only her fifth appearance of the season — gave up 13 hits in the night cap.

Orr scattered those 13 hits, all singles, and calmed down after a first inning that saw her allow two runs, shutting out the Camels the rest of the way.

“I was just glad the balls stayed in the fence,” Orr said.

Orr had totalled only 5 1/3 innings in her first four appearances this season, making her 117-pitch complete game against Campbell a pleasant surprise for coach Donna Papa.

“I thought she did a fantastic job,” Papa said. “I was really proud of her effort and intensity.”

With Johnson appearing in place of the injured Spaulding, she’s had the lion’s share of pitching duties.

“That’s what was on my mind, to help Amber out because she’s been the only one pitching,” Orr said.

With the inexperienced Orr as the only other pitcher on UNC’s roster, Johnson has thrown a total of 70 1/3 innings in the past 15 days.

Spaulding made another attempt to come back from a hand injury and once again was unable to finish what she started.

“There’s still a lot of swelling,” Papa said. “Hopefully she’s on her way to recovery after tonight.”

Papa stated that Spaulding had undergone treatment for the swelling after the first game of Wednesday’s double-header.

In Spaulding’s four starts since being hit by a pitch against Florida State, she has thrown more than three innings only once and has been relieved by her fellow senior on each occasion.

“Amber just needs rest,” Papa said. “Mentally, it takes its toll.”



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