Hokie ClubCHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Pitcher Carrie Eberle held North Carolina to two runs in the circle and blasted a solo home run in Game 1 and right fielder Emma Strouth tallied two hits, including an RBI triple, in Game 2, but it was not enough as the Virginia Tech softball team fell to UNC in a doubleheader (2-1, 10-2) on Friday at Anderson Stadium.
Eberle finished the game with 6.0 innings pitched for the Hokies (15-22, 2-11 ACC), sprinkling out six hits allowed, two earned runs and recording five strikeouts. Carolina's Brittany Pickett pitched in both games, going 12.0 innings, giving up nine hits, three earned runs and posting 10 strikeouts for the Tar Heels (21-19, 10-4 ACC).
GAME 1 - NORTH CAROLINA 2, VIRIGNIA TECH 1
Tech kicked off the first game with a single to right field by senior Caroline Schoenewald. Freshman Sammi Miller followed suit with a successful sacrifice bunt, and junior Olivia Lattin reached on a fielding error to push Schoenewald to third base. Lattin stole second, but the Hokies' next two batters went down to end the half inning.
Eberle allowed a single to the leadoff hitter, but induced two groundouts and a strikeout, sending Tech back up to bat. In the top of the second, the Hokies knocked on the door again as Eberle sent a first-pitch fastball over the left field fence.
Carolina put some pressure on in the bottom of the third, loading the bases on Eberle with one out. The sophomore escaped with first baseman Jessie Mehr firing a ground ball to home, getting the force out, and the ensuing batter hit into a 6-3 play.
Junior Sierra Walton singled to left field to begin the fourth and junior Kinsey Johnson pinch ran and swiped second, marking her second of the season. Caitlyn Nolan, a junior as well, worked a nine-pitch at-bat, respectively, but flied out to center as Tech left Johnson stranded.
After pitching five scoreless innings, Eberle saw Carolina score two runs in the bottom of the sixth off of three hits to take the go-ahead lead to claim it.
GAME 2 - NORTH CAROLINA 10, VIRGINIA TECH 2
To start things off in the second game, Strouth showed off her speed with an infield single in the top of the first. The junior reached second after an error by Carolina and Eberle got to first, followed by a double to right-center field by fellow Walton to knock in Strouth, giving Tech a 1-0 lead.
After a walk to the leadoff hitter, pitcher Jordan Dail got the next three batters out and Tech kept its momentum going into the top of the second inning. Taylor Clark belted a ball to right center for a standup double, but was left stranded.
The bottom of the second saw the Tar Heels rattle off six runs on three hits, causing Keely Rochard into the circle. Tech responded with a run in the top of the third off of Strouth's triple, sending Lattin, who hit a double in the previous at-bat, to home plate, cutting the deficit to four.
Carolina's Kiani Ramsey hit a grand slam in the bottom of the third, though, to extend their lead to 10-2, and would go on to hold Tech scoreless in the fourth and fifth frames.
The Hokies will conclude the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in Chapel Hill. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra via the WatchESPN app and live stats will be available on hokiesports.com