CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Megan Baltzell blasted her 57th career Big South home run to pull within one of the conference all-time record, as North Carolina earned a doubleheader sweep over Longwood Wednesday afternoon at Anderson Softball Stadium.

The Tar Heels (28-10) earned a 7-5 win in game one in walk-off fashion, before earning a 9-1 victory in the second game of the afternoon. Longwood falls to 17-21 on the season.

"We played a really good hitting team," said head coach Kathy Riley. "For the most part, I thought we did a good job with our pitch location in getting some of their better hitters out. They hit several home runs on a couple of pitches that we missed and that was the biggest difference."

Batzell is second on the conference's all-time list, despite the fact that the nine home runs from her freshman season are not counted towards the Big South record books as Longwood did not become a member institution until the 2013 campaign. 

The Stafford, Va., native is in a two-man race with Coastal Carolina's Kory Hayden who is tied atop the Big South record book with former Liberty player Jessica Moore. Hayden equaled Moore's mark of 58 home runs Tuesday and Baltzell pulled within one on Wednesday.
Baltzell led the Lancers at the plate for the day, going 3-of-5 with a single, double and a home run.

Up next, Longwood returns to Lancer Field Saturday for a weekend series against Gardner-Webb. The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m., before concluding the series Sunday with a 1 p.m. start.  

"This weekend against Gardner-Webb, I'm looking to attack and take it to them each game we go out there," Riley said.

North Carolina 7, Longwood 5
Chelsea Sciacca delivered a game-tying RBI single in the top of the seventh, but North Carolina's Amber Parrish delivered the walk-off home run to give the Tar Heels a 7-5 win in game one of the day.

Sciacca delivered in the clutch with two out and runners on first and second with her first hit of the day through the left side. Justina Augustine was waved around and slid around a tag safely into home plate to tie the game. However, Amber Parrish walked off on a 1-0 pitch to give the Tar Heels the victory.

Making her 11th straight start in the circle, Elizabeth McCarthy (13-10) took the loss while allowing seven runs, six earned, on seven hits and two walks in 6.1 scoreless innings. McCarthy added five strikeouts to her total.

Kaylee Carlson (13-5) picked up the win, giving up five runs, including one earned, on eight hits and three walks.

Longwood was able to strike first in the top of the first inning with a pair of hits and aided by a pair of Tar Heel errors. Justina Augustine led off the game with a single right back up the middle, before advancing to third base on a misplayed ball by North Carolina center fielder Aquilla Mateen from Megan Baltzell.

After a Sciacca two-out walk to load the bases, Carly Adams brought Augustine to the plate with an infield single. However, a throwing error on Tar Heel shortstop Kristen Brown cleared the bases and allowed Adams to advance to third base.

North Carolina got on the board in the second inning after Lauren Walker took McCarthy deep on the first pitch she saw from the sophomore for a two-out solo home run. The Tar Heels added their second dinger of the game an inning later, as Darby Rosen lifted a pitch to right field to bring her squad within a run, 3-2.

UNC took its first lead of the game with a three-run bottom of the fifth inning. Dani Garcielita led off the frame with a walk, before Taylor Wike was hit by a pitch from McCarthy to give the Tar Heels runners on first and second and one out. Those two runners moved to second and third off a double steal, before Aquilla Mateen knocked in a run with a RBI double to left field. UNC took a lead one batter later after Kristen Brown recorded a double to score Wike and Mateen.

After a scoreless sixth, Longwood tied the game with a run in the seventh. Augustine recorded her second hit of the day on an infield single. Murphy moved her to second on a sac-bunt and she was called safe at the plate on an RBI single from Sciacca.

With one-on and one out in the bottom of the inning, Amber Parrish sealed the 7-5 victory for the Tar Heels with a walk-off home run.

North Carolina 9, Longwood 1 (6)
Amber Parrish blasted two home runs en route to a 9-1 win for the Tar Heels in game two of the afternoon.

Jenna Carnes (0-4) got her fourth start of the season and took the loss. She allowed nine runs, including six earned, on 12 hits and two walks in 5.2 innings.

North Carolina's Sydney Matzko (10-4) earned the win, allowing one run on two hits and a pair of walks in six innings. Matzko struck out seven Lancer batters.

Taylor Wike led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk, before Amber Parrish hit her second homer of the day to left field to give the Tar Heels a 2-0 lead.

Parrish added her second two-run shot in the third inning, to increase the UNC advantage to 4-0. Jenna Kelly appeared to hit the second of back-to-back homers to give North Carolina a 5-0 lead, but was ultimately ruled out due to batting with the wrong jersey number to end the inning.

Baltzell added her 17th home run of the season in the top of the fourth inning. It marks her fourth straight game with a hit and a season-high 11th straight game reaching base safely. The homer also marks the ninth home run in her past 11 games dating back to Longwood's series win against Presbyterian.

North Carolina added a run in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI single from Wike to score Dani Garcieleta.

The Tar Heels busted the game open in the sixth inning with four runs on five hits. The Tar Heels loaded the bases, before Mateen and Brown notched a pair of RBI singles. Kelly's single to center field plated Brown and ended the game with the Tar Heels earning the run-rule victory.

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