Softball Recap: Chapel Hill Tigers vs. Northern Durham Knights
After flying high against Carrboro back in March, Chapel Hill came back down to earth. The Chapel Hill Tigers' tough 16-6 loss to the Northern Durham Knights on Tuesday might stick with them for a while. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Chapel Hill of the 10-0 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in April of 2023.
Rachel Penzner made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored three runs while going 3-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Silvia Tellez-Flores, who went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
On Northern Durham's side, Taylor Penne was a major factor no matter where she played. She tossed 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Penne has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive pitching appearances. Penne was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, Mason Browning and AnnaClaire Spell did most of the damage at the plate: Browning got on base in four of her five plate appearances with a home run, three runs, and three RBI, while Spell scored four runs while going 4-for-5. Browning has been hot recently, having posted at least one home run the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Samantha Drake, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Chapel Hill has not been sharp recently as the team has lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-4 record this season. As for Northern Durham, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 5-6.
Chapel Hill will play host again on Wednesday to welcome Northwood, where first pitch is scheduled at 6:00 p.m. Northwood has struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 6.58 runs per game on average), something Chapel Hill will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Northern Durham, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Jordan at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Northern Durham's favor is that they have posted big run totals in their last four games.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
