BLACKSBURG – Two preseason All-ACC pitchers lived up to the hype on Saturday, as a pitchers' duel took place in a 3-0 setback for No. 21/20 Virginia Tech softball against North Carolina at Tech Softball Park.
The Tar Heels' (28-14, 14-5 ACC) Brittany Pickett (17-8) threw a three-hit shutout, while the Hokies' (39-7, 16-3) Carrie Eberle (22-4) allowed just five hits and one earned run. With only eight hits combined from the two teams atop the ACC standings, runs were at a premium in Game 1 of the three-game series.
Carolina plated one in the top of the fourth inning and then scored two unearned runs in the fifth. Tech had its chances, though, getting four runners on base, but couldn't come up with a timely hit off Pickett.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Eberle went to work early in the game, throwing only eight pitches to get a 1-2-3 first inning. In the bottom half, shortstop Caitlyn Nolan, on a 2-2 count, took a pitch on the outer half of the plate and went the other way with it, roping a double to right center. But the next batter flew out to center for the third out of the frame.
Again, Eberle was in rhythm, getting two strikeouts and a groundout in the second. Then three-up, three-down half-innings would happen on both sides, heading into the bottom of the third.
Outfielder Darby Trull slapped a hit in between the third baseman and shortstop, to lead off the inning. A fouled bunt attempt on a third strike by the next batter would not move her to second, then a fielder's choice replaced Trull at first with first baseman Jayme Bailey. With outfielder Al Velazquez at the plate with a runner on and two outs, Carolina's catcher Megan Dray threw out Tech's runner trying to steal second to end the frame.
The Tar Heels in the top of the fourth would score the first run of the game by first loading up the bases with a single and two walks. With two outs, Carolina's Lexi Godwin hit a soft ground ball up the middle and Nolan corralled it and dove to second base, touching the bag with her glove as Dray got to second in a bang-bang play resulting in a safe motion by the umpire. Eberle would get the next out though on a fielder's choice, keeping it a one-run game.
Velazquez in the bottom half started the inning off with a single up the middle, but would not come around to score as it remained a 1-0 deficit.
Eberle got a quick two outs after giving up a single in the top of the fifth. But a single up the middle allowed a Carolina runner to get to third and then went home as second baseman Maddi Banks fired it home off her knees, but Tech would be called for obstruction at the plate, allowing the runner to score and make it a 2-0 game.
Dray followed with a hard-hit ball to third that Tech mishandled, allowing a Carolina runner to score for what would be the final run of the game.
NOTES
- Eberle, for the fourth game in a row, struck out exactly five batters. She also picked up a quality start (5 IP or more, 3 ER or less) in the circle. Of her 25 starts this season, 22 have been of the quality-start genre.
- Nolan's double in the first inning was her ninth of the season, giving Tech 80 on the year, the fourth-most in the country.
- Tech, which averages 7.1 runs per game, was shutout for the first time since March 2 when it took on then-No. 8 Georgia, snapping its streak of 27 games in a row with it at least plating one.
- Of Tech's three losses in ACC play, two of those have come during the first game of a three-game series (Louisville, March 29).
UP NEXT
- Tech will play the Tar Heels on Sunday in a doubleheader starting at noon ET at Tech Softball Park. The two games will be broadcast on WatchESPN, with Evan Hughes on the call.
Gallery: (4/20/2019) 2019 SOFTBALL vs. NORTH CAROLINA GAME 1
