One day after winning two games to keep its season alive, North Carolina softball was on the verge of forcing an improbable winner-takes-all matchup with No. 13 seed Ole Miss in the Oxford Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
UNC held a two-run lead through the first three innings against the Rebels, who had yet to lose during the weekend, but couldn’t protect that advantage as its season came to an end with a 7-2 loss on Sunday.
The Tar Heels finished the season 40-21 and saw their campaign end in the regional round of the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season.
“We got off to a great start today," head coach Donna Papa said, "and I thought we had really good momentum that we brought in from last night. I think Ole Miss did a great job; they are a very good team. They put the ball in play a lot and they made it happen.”
With nothing separating the two teams, designated player Brittany Finney gave Ole Miss the lead on a two-run home run off UNC pitcher Brittany Pickett in the top of the sixth.
Two innings earlier, it was Finney who tied the game with an RBI-single with two outs in the fourth.
Pickett, the ACC Freshman of the Year, took the loss for UNC, which was just her 10th of the season, in what was her third start in as many days.
Early on, UNC’s offense put her in a position to earn a win.
Facing Ole Miss ace Kaitlin Lee, who pitched the entirety of the SEC Tournament for the Rebels a week ago, the Tar Heels struck first, scoring a pair of runs in the first and second innings.