Syracuse Swept In Inaugural ACC Doubleheader

Saturday, March 8

Chapel Hill, NC

3 pm

Syracuse University

5-11, 0-1

North Carolina

9-9, 3-1

Syracuse

North Carolina

3/8/2014 7:42:00 PM | Softball

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Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box | Blog Replay | Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Syracuse officially began its tenure as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday, March 8 in a doubleheader at North Carolina, with the Tar Heels winning the pair.

In the opener, North Carolina (10-9, 4-1 ACC) came out swinging and cruised to a 9-1 victory. The teams were locked in a tight battle through four innings in game two, but the Tar Heels scored eight times in the final two innings for a 9-4 win.

"Obviously we didn't get the result we wanted today," said assistant coach Matt Nandin. "We're trying to figure out what identity this team has, what direction we want to go in and what we need to do to be successful. Because that's what we want to do, we want to win. We just didn't play well today. It is what it is."

Sophomore Riley Johnson recorded a single and one run batted in for the first game. Senior Shirley Daniels was also 1-for-2 with a run scored and a stolen base. Freshman Sydney O'Hara (3-5) started and lasted three innings.

North Carolina set the tone for the opener, pushing one run across in the first inning. Aquilla Mateen led off with a single to right center, stole second and came around to score on Kristen Brown's RBI double to left center with one out. The Tar Heels added two runs in the second on Mateen's two-out, two-run single to make it 3-0.

In the third, Kati Causey crushed a three-run homer over the left field wall to extend UNC's lead to 6-0 and put the game out of reach.

Syracuse (5-12, 0-2 ACC) was able to get one run in the fourth on back-to-back hits by Daniels and Johnson to lead off the frame. Daniels smoked a pitch up the middle for the Orange's first hit of the contest. Johnson followed with a single off the center field wall that allowed the speedy Daniels to come all the way home.

Three more runs in the bottom half of the fourth gave the Tar Heels a 9-1 advantage, and the eight runs they would need to end the game after five innings. Darby Rosen started off the inning with a solo shot to right field. After a single by Marteen – her third of the game – Jordan Scarboro walked. Both runners moved up on a passed ball and scored on a two-run single by Brown.

The second game was much closer as the Orange took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth. However, UNC exploded for a six-run frame and added two more in the sixth to go up 9-2. Syracuse tacked on two runs in the seventh for the final score.

Freshman Nicole Lundstrom hit her second career home run and scored twice. Daniels tallied a two-run triple and sophomore Danielle Chitkowski also had an extra base-hit with a double. Freshman Alyssa Dewes posted her second multi-hit game in just four starts this season, going 2-for-3.

Freshman Christina Clermont (1-2) took the loss while classmate Jordyn White made her collegiate debut with 1.2 innings of work in the circle, striking out three.

Daniels led off the game with a walk and stole second. Back-to-back groundouts let Daniels score with an RBI going to junior Julie Wambold. North Carolina evened the score in the bottom half on Erin Satterfield's solo blast.

The score remained that way until the fifth inning when Lundstrom hit an opposite filed home run to begin the inning and put the Orange back on top 2-1. Chitkowski followed with a double and a one out single by Dewes placed runners on the corners. But relief pitcher Lauren Batten shut the door to close out the inning and keep it a one-run game.

A monster six-run inning in the bottom of the fifth gave the Tar Heels more than they would need to take control of the game. Clermont retired the first batter, but walked and hit the next batters. A wild pitch moved both up and Mateen's but single tied the score at 2-2. Two more walks kept the bases loaded and gave UNC to take a 3-2 lead. That brought up Jenny Kelly who smashed a grand slam to left center for a 7-2 margin.

North Carolina plated two more runs in the sixth on Kelly's RBI groundout in the sixth. After the first run scored, a throwing error allowed Mateen to touch the plate and make it 9-2.

Syracuse looked to rally in the seventh, but came up short. Daniels hit a two-out, two-run triple to get the Orange within 9-4. However Johnson's deep fly to center ended the game.

SU and the Tar Heels will wrap up a three-game series on Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m.