Friday, April 21
Raleigh, N.C.
6 p.m.
North Carolina
21-25, 0
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NC State
16-29, 0
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Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Softball Takes Game One At NC State, 5-4
April 21, 2023 | Softball
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina softball team (21-25, 9-9 ACC) took game one of its three-game series at NC State on Friday night, defeating the Wolfpack 5-4 in Dail Softball Stadium. Lilli Backes earned her sixth straight victory in the circle, setting a new career-best of 10 strikeouts.
Alex Brown extended her hitting streak to 10 games in the win, tallying a team-best two RBIs. Brown also had a pair of hits on the night, including her first triple of the season, bringing her multi-hit game total to 17 on the season, a team-best.
Abby Settlemyre, who is hitting .500 in conference play, and Carsyn Snead, who has tallied two hits in three consecutive games, each had a pair of hits in the game.
The first three innings were a defensive battle between both squads. Backes struck out the side in both the bottom of the second and third innings.
The Tar Heels broke the hitless game open in the top of the fourth, with Bri Stubbs and Abby Settlemyre tallying back-to-back singles before an RBI single from Kiersten Licea put Carolina on the board.
Destiny Middleton then scored Licea with an RBI lineout to give the Tar Heels a 2-0 lead.
The Wolfpack took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, plating four runs on three hits and an error, including a solo home run, to make it 4-2.
Carolina tied it up in the top of the fifth. Snead opened the inning with a bunt single before Brown scored her with an RBI standup triple. Stubbs made it 4-all with an RBI groundout that scored Brown.
Brown plated the game-winning run in the top of the sixth, an RBI single that plated Snead, to make it 5-4.
Talia Hannappel, who entered in the bottom of the sixth with runners on the corners and no outs, retired the next six batters in order. She threw two hitless innings to earn her third save of the season.
Carolina will look to clinch the series on Sunday when they face the Wolfpack in a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
Stay up to date with Carolina Softball by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.
Alex Brown extended her hitting streak to 10 games in the win, tallying a team-best two RBIs. Brown also had a pair of hits on the night, including her first triple of the season, bringing her multi-hit game total to 17 on the season, a team-best.
Abby Settlemyre, who is hitting .500 in conference play, and Carsyn Snead, who has tallied two hits in three consecutive games, each had a pair of hits in the game.
The first three innings were a defensive battle between both squads. Backes struck out the side in both the bottom of the second and third innings.
The Tar Heels broke the hitless game open in the top of the fourth, with Bri Stubbs and Abby Settlemyre tallying back-to-back singles before an RBI single from Kiersten Licea put Carolina on the board.
Destiny Middleton then scored Licea with an RBI lineout to give the Tar Heels a 2-0 lead.
The Wolfpack took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, plating four runs on three hits and an error, including a solo home run, to make it 4-2.
Carolina tied it up in the top of the fifth. Snead opened the inning with a bunt single before Brown scored her with an RBI standup triple. Stubbs made it 4-all with an RBI groundout that scored Brown.
Brown plated the game-winning run in the top of the sixth, an RBI single that plated Snead, to make it 5-4.
Talia Hannappel, who entered in the bottom of the sixth with runners on the corners and no outs, retired the next six batters in order. She threw two hitless innings to earn her third save of the season.
Carolina will look to clinch the series on Sunday when they face the Wolfpack in a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
Stay up to date with Carolina Softball by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Backes, Lilli (13-12)
L: Aisha Weixlmann (7-9)
S: Hannappel, Talia (3)
Batting:
3B: Brown, Alex 1
RBI: Brown, Alex 2 ; Stubbs, Bri 1 ; Licea, Kiersten 1 ; Middleton, Destiny 1
SH: Brooks, Skyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brown, Alex 1 ; Stubbs, Bri 1 ; Settlemyre, Abby 1 ; Jordan, Aneshia 1 ; Snead, Carsyn 1
Batting:
2B: Taylor Ensley 2
HR: Hannah Goodwin 1
RBI: Hannah Goodwin 1 ; Taylor Ensley 1 ; Kaylee Lambrecht 1 ; Libby Whittaker 1 ; Brooklyn Lucero 1
SF: Libby Whittaker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hannah Goodwin 1 ; Katlyn Pavlick 1 ; Amanda Hasler 1 ; Taylor Ensley 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballUT
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF/INF
/ Softball
3B
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
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