Tech’s softball team fell to University of North Carolina in both games of their doubleheader on Saturday. Their third game was rained out and will not be made up. The Jackets’ record fell to 15-23 overall and 2-6 in the ACC. The losses not only ended a five game winning streak started two weeks ago, but began Tech’s ninth losing streak of the season.
In the first game, Tech fell 3-1 in a close game.
Senior Brittany Barnes contributed the only Jacket run with her solo shot in the top of the ninth. Senior Stephanie Butler, senior Becky McCrew and junior Blair Shimandle also contributed one hit a piece.
Senior pitcher Whitney Humphreys was credited with the loss. She allowed 10 hits, three walks and three earned runs while on the mound. Danielle Spaulding picked up the first Tar Heel run in the bottom of the second with a solo shot into center field. The Heels continued to add runs to the score in the third. With the bases loaded and one out, Spaulding was able to bat in another run. The Tar Heels picked up another run before the Jackets were able to halt the Tar Heels’ momentum. With Barnes’ homer, the game ended 3-1 in favor of the Heels.
In the second game, the Jackets struggled to make enough offensive headway in the end of the game to compensate for the earlier UNC runs, finally losing 6-2. Senior Savannah Brown led the Jackets by picking up a hit and a run for the Jackets. Shimandle picked up the other run for the Jackets. Junior Whitney Haller and freshman Christy Jones also picked up a hit each.
Breanna Brown led the UNC offense in the second game. She picked up a solo homerun in the bottom of the third inning and hit a two run double in the fourth. Brown had a total of three RBIs, three hits and scored two runs.
Jennifer Jacobs batted in another run in the fourth for the Heels as well. Emily Troup picked up the first run for the Tar Heels in the first inning.
North Carolina expanded their lead in the fifth inning, picking up a sixth run off of two Tech fielding errors. By that time, the deficit was too much for Tech to bounce back from and the late two runs in the sixth could not make the difference for the Jackets.
Freshman pitcher Emily Schreck had a rough outing, giving up six runs and six hits in six innings pitched. One of the runs was unearned, however. She also walked six batters out of the 32 she faced. Still, she pitched the whole game.
The weather that forced the doubleheader to be played on Saturday also rained out the game that was supposed to be played on Sunday.
It was decided that the game was not going to be made up. Weather plagued the Jackets earlier in the month when they had to play a doubleheader against the University of Virginia in their ACC home-opener.
The month of March was highlighted by a five game winning streak for the Jackets that consisted of two two-game series sweeps over Furman and Coastal Carolina.
The Jackets are headed back up to North Carolina to take N.C. State in a three-game set over the weekend.
They then return home to play a two game series against Georgia in Atlanta.