May 14, 2004

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Second-seeded North Carolina defeated sixth-seeded Maryland 7-2 at the 2004 ACC Softball Championship, being held at the Seminole Softball Complex on the campus of Florida State University.

Senior Casey Leiter led off the top of the first with a walk. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior Nneka Cardoza and scored on freshman Keri Lounge's single to left field to put Georgia Tech ahead 1-0.

North Carolina rallied to score six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, putting the Tar Heels on top 6-1. Freshman Theresa Nicholas got the offensive surge started with a base hit into left field. She was followed to the plate by freshman Joslin Higgins who laid down a sacrifice bunt that advanced Nicholas. Freshman Anna Evans then recorded an infield single to advance the runners. Freshman Marissa May reached on an error to push Nicholas home. May and Evans then recorded a double steal. Senior Dionne Streete then brought in two runs on her double, before advancing on senior Natashalyn Snipes' single. Junior Jessica Young grounded out, scoring Streete. Snipes stole third before senior Emily Price knocked out a two-run homer to increase the Tar Heels' lead to 6-1.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, North Carolina extended its lead to 7-1 when Nicholas crossed the plate. She reached base with a lead off walk and stole second before crossing home plate on an error by Maryland's center fielder.

Maryland came back to score one run in the top of the seventh inning, making the final score of the game 7-2. Freshman Lindsay Klein doubled to left center and was driven in by senior Monica Cyphert who recorded a double.

The Terrapins will match up with NC State on Saturday, May 15 at 12:30 pm, followed by a showdown between Florida State and North Carolina at 3:00 pm.

Price notched her 16th home run on the season tonight, setting the new North Carolina record for homers in a single season.

North Carolina scored seven runs on nine hits and committed three errors, while Maryland notched two runs on five hits and registered three errors.