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The Daily Tar Heel

Tar Heels split softball double header against Notre Dame

The UNC softball team huddled together to discuss their plays during their game against Louisville Saturday.
The UNC softball team huddled together to discuss their plays during their game against Louisville Saturday.

Inconsistency plagued the North Carolina softball team once again in Sunday afternoon’s "Senior Weekend” double header against No.18 Notre Dame at Anderson Stadium. The Tar Heels (25-22, 9-11 ACC) opened the day with a 7-4 victory before dropping the day’s second game to the Fighting Irish (35-7, 10-4 ACC) 12-2 in a five-inning defeat. 

UNC started the day strong, as starting pitcher Kendra Lynch worked out of a first inning jam and then sent a line drive over the fence in right-centerfield for a three-run home run, giving the Tar Heels an early 3-0 lead. 

The Fighting Irish leveled the score in the second inning on RBI singles from Megan Sorlie and Karley Wester, but Taylor Wike’s two-run double in the bottom of the inning gave UNC a 5-3 lead. 

Notre Dame drew within one run in the fourth inning, but an RBI single from Lynch and an RBI double by Tracy Chandless stretched the Tar Heel lead to 7-4. 

Given a lead to work with, Lynch finished out her complete game victory by retiring the last 10 batters she faced to improve her record to 21-16. 

Any momentum for UNC from the Game 1 victory disappeared almost immediately as back-to-back home runs by Caitlyn Brooks and Micaela Arizmendi gave Notre Dame an early 4-0 lead in the first inning of Game 2. 

Chandless’ second-inning solo home run to left field put the Tar Heels on the board, but the Fighting Irish answered back in the top of the third with four runs, punctuated by Sorlie’s two-run double to extend the lead to 8-1. 

The Tar Heels left the bases loaded in the bottom of the third when Berlynne Delamora lined into an inning-ending double play. 

Notre Dame loaded the bases in the top of the fifth, eventually scoring four in the inning, including two on a double by Arizmendi, extending the lead to 12-2. Rachel Nasland retired UNC in order in the bottom of the fifth, finishing out a run-rule victory to end the double header. 

Quotable

“They’ve just been a great group to coach: they’re very talented, they’ve got big hearts, they’ve done a lot for our team, and they’ve made a lot of sacrifices.” — Coach Donna Papa on the impact of the six seniors on the team over the last four years. 

Notable

With her five walks on the day, Kristen Brown became UNC’s all-time career leader in walks with 98. Brown also holds the all-time program records for home runs, RBIs, total bases, and runs scored. 

Three numbers that matter

8: The two teams combined started eight first-years in the first game of the double header, four for each. 

25: With the complete game victory in Game 1, Kendra Lynch recorded her 25th complete game in her 37th start of the season. Lynch leads the ACC in innings pitched, wins, starts, and appearances. 

12: Notre Dame first baseman Micaela Arizmendi hit for twelve total bases over the two games, going 4-6 with two home runs, two doubles, and four RBIs. 

What’s next?

The Tar Heels and Fighting Irish will conclude their series on Monday night at 7 p.m. at Williams Field. 

sports@dailytarheel.com

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