Ann Arbor, MI -- North Carolina junior Crystal Cox tossed her third no-hitter of the season with 12 strikeouts to help lead the North Carolina Tarheels (37-28) to a 3-0 win over Canisius (22-19) in the first elimination game of the Ann Arbor Regional Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field on the campus of the University of Michigan.
North Carolina advanced to the loser?™s bracket championship game against Seton Hall with the win, while the loss ends Canisius?™ season.
Cox received all the run support she needed in the win in the top of the sixth, when designated player Erica Ennis plated two runs after she dropped a double down the left field line, just out of the reach of a diving Rina Brannen. North Carolina put two runners on the bases with one out after Julia Bove and pinch hitter Jaclyn Holden posted back-to-back base hits off Canisius starter Andrea Bunten, who took the loss in the circle for the Blue and Gold. The two runs scored by North Carolina snapped the Tarheels?™ streak of going scoreless in 34-straight innings, dating back to the team?™s 3-0 loss to North Carolina State April 28.
Bunten went the distance in her final game as a Golden Griffins, allowing three runs on six hits to go with five strikeouts and two walks. Bunten closed out her four-year career with a 42-37 career mark, and leaves the program ranked in the top-five of 12 different pitching categories, including strikeouts where her 663 career Ks ranks first all-time at Canisius and fourth best in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Canisius made a one last effort to put some runs on the scoreboard in the last of the seventh, when with one out, Jessica Martin reached first with a walk. Pinch runner Natalie Osika came on for Martin, and forced out at second on a fielder's choice. Canisius did have runners on first and second with two outs in the game, but Cox posted her 12th K of the day to end the contest. In all, Canisius left five runners on base in the loss.
The final game of the season marks the end of the collegiate careers for six Griffs. Bunten, Ashley Gonnello and Amanda Luukinen were four-year members of the program and became the first graduating class to go to the NCAA Tournament three times in four seasons.