After No. 3 Oregon shut out UNC 3-0 earlier in the day, No. 25 Wisconsin ousted the Tar Heels from NCAA Regional play with a 6-2 win Friday night at Oregon’s Howe Field.

Lori Spingola’s solid pitching in both games and Amber Parrish’s solo shot in game two highlighted Carolina’s final day of play. The Tar Heels finish their season 40-21, tallying their sixth 40-win season in the last seven years as they close out their 11th NCAA appearance.

GAME ONE

Oregon’s Jessica Moore pitched the complete shut out, tallying her 100th career victory and 19th career shutout as she gave up five hits while fanning nine for the Ducks, who capitalized on Carolina’s two errors and eight runners left on base.

“I thought we played a good game, and I thought Lori pitched another great game for us,” head coach Donna J. Papa said. “We made some mistakes that cost us a couple of runs, but we were in the game the whole game, and I thought we competed really well. We left too many people on base and had opportunities to score some runs early. We didn’t capitalize though, and they did, and that was really the difference in the game. I think we just need to continue to go out and compete.”

Janie Takeda led off for the host No. 3 seed with an infield single advancing to second on a sac bunt by Courtney Ceo before stealing third and scoring on the Tar Heels’ first error. The Ducks tacked on two more in the third, as Takeda had another infield single, stealing second and advancing to third on Carolina’s second error. Takeda scored on a bunt single by Alexa Peterson, which advanced Ceo to second. A hard-hit single to second by Samantha Pappas then scored Ceo for the final run.

Kristen Brown and Erin Satterfield each recorded a double, but the Tar Heels weren’t able to put any runs across the plate as UNC left eight runners stranded, including leaving bases loaded in the second.

Spingola, who earned her 30th win of the season in Thursday’s win over Wisconsin, took the loss, striking out seven and giving up six hits and one walk.

GAME TWO

UNC topped the Badgers 3-2 in eight innings in Thursday’s opening game, but the Badgers got the upper hand in Friday’s contest.

“I’m really proud of the girls making it to regionals and being just a game away from making it to the finals,” head coach Donna J. Papa said. “They really battled this weekend, but today Wisconsin came out on top. I’m really proud of the girls, and hopefully going forward we can continue to get better.”

Mary Massei led off the opening frame with a single to right center, advancing to second on a sac bunt by Maria Van Abel before moving to third on a wild pitch. Stephanie Peace drew a walk and stole second before Michelle Meuller reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on the throw. Peace was tagged out at home and Massei scored on the play to put the Badgers up 1-0.

Constance Orr led off the bottom of the second with a solid single to right center, advancing to second on a ground out by Jenna Kelly. Orr moved to third on an Elisha Elliott single to left center and then plated a run for the Tar Heels on a wild pitch, evening the game at 1-1.

The Badgers took advantage of a Tar Heel error in the third, adding a pair of runs to take the lead in the third. With two outs on the board, Meuller was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a single to center by Massey. Marissa Mersch then doubled to left center as Mueller came home. Massey advanced to third on the hit and then scored on a Carolina throwing error, putting UW up 3-1.

Peace led off the fifth with a single to left, advancing to second when Mueller was hit by a pitch to reach base. A single to center by Massey moved Mueller to third as Peace advanced and scored on a Tar Heel error. Tancill, running for Massey, stole second and advanced to third on a Mersch ground out as Mueller crossed the plate for the second run. A sac fly by Kendall Grimm to left scored Tancill to give the Badgers the 6-1 lead.

Amber Parrish hit a solo shot out right field in the sixth for her seventh homer of the season to add a run to the board for Carolina, but the Tar Heels weren’t able to add any more in the seventh as the Badgers took the win to advance to Saturday’s final vs. No. 3 seed and host Oregon.

– News release

Granted, I come from a prospective that it’s better to have a really good team player for three or four years than a great individual player for one year. It takes several months for any player, no matter how good, to fit in to a new team as a freshman. You say it’s the end-of-the-year conference and NCAA tournaments that really matter anyway?

Well, the No. 1 recruit of 2012 Shabazz Muhammad did score a bunch of points, averaging 18 points a game for UCLA last season, but the Bruins failed to win the PAC 12 Tournament and lost in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Now that his freshman season is over, his NBA career begins and UCLA is left to recruit someone to take his place, after perhaps missing out on a better player because of Muhammad.

The No. 1 recruit of 2011 Austin Rivers played well as a freshman for Duke but the Blue Devils failed to win the ACC regular season, didn’t make the finals of the ACC Tournament and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 1 recruit of 2010 Josh Selby, after a nine-game suspension and after injuries, averaged just eight points a game in 20 minutes a game for Kansas and then went pro after his first season.

Yes, No. 1 recruit of 2009 John Wall was a difference maker for Kentucky as he was named national player of the year and led the Wildcats to a SEC Tournament title (after failing to win the regular season). But the Wildcats lost in the Elite 8 and Wall was gone.

The No. 1 recruit of 2008 B.J. Mullens averaged just 8.8 points a game as a freshman with Ohio State when the Buckeyes finished fourth in the regular season, lost in the Big Ten tournament finals and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Siena.

The No. 1 recruit of 2007 O.J. Mayo had a good season for USC but the Trojans finished just 21-12 and fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Later, because of Mayo gift violations, USC had to vacate all 21 wins.

In fact, except for Rivers and Mullens, controversy and/or suspensions followed No. 1 recruits signings over the past six years.

The point is that you never know what’s going to happen. These can’t-miss No. 1 recruits can get injured, or under perform, or bring bad publicity, or ultimately make no difference in how far a team goes. Certainly, the fact that they leave after only one season leaves a hole in the program and can hurt future years.

The idea is to capture the genie in the bottle for one year but that almost never happens so why cry over missing out on a one-and-done No. 1 recruit? It may be a blessing in disguise.

Even if you disagree and rather take the risk with a one-year Wiggins, who some compare to LeBron James, don’t feel too sorry for Carolina. Despite losing underclassman Reggie Bullock, the Tar Heels have returning starters James Michael McAdoo, P.J. Hairston and point guard Marcus Paige along with sometimes starter Brice Johnson, experienced senior Leslie McDonald, sophomores Joel James, a banger, and J.P. Tokoto, a high-flying athlete. In addition, UNC’s recruiting class is ranked 17th nationally with two of the best high school players in the state in Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks. Hopefully, they’ll stick around awhile.

Usually there is a vast improvement from a freshman season to a sophomore season – if they make it to a sophomore season.

No. 1 North Carolina (45-6, 20-5 ACC) dropped its first series of the year on Sunday as the Tar Heels suffered a 9-8 loss in 11 innings against Georgia Tech (32-20, 14-13 ACC) in Atlanta.

Carolina jumped out to a 7-1 lead after five and a half innings but the Yellow Jackets would not go quietly as they pushed across a pair of runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to climb within three at 8-5.

Holding an 8-5 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth the Tar Heels were three outs away from the series win but Georgia Tech would mount another rally and force extra innings where Zane Evans singled home the game-winning run in the 11th inning.

Carolina will look to bounce back on Tuesday, May 14 when it hosts Appalachian State at 6 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium.

Box Score

2013 NORTH CAROLINA BASEBALL
#1 North Carolina at #30 Georgia Tech
May 12, 2013 at Atlanta, Ga. (Russ Chandler)

North Carolina 8 (45-6,20-5 ACC)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
——————————————————
Chaz Frank cf………… 4 1 1 1 2 0 9 0 0
Landon Lassiter dh……. 3 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 1
Colin Moran 3b……….. 4 1 2 2 2 1 0 3 0
Brian Holberton c/rf….. 6 1 1 2 0 0 8 1 3
Cody Stubbs 1b……….. 4 0 1 1 1 0 8 0 2
Michael Russell ss……. 6 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 3
Mike Zolk 2b…………. 5 0 0 1 1 0 1 2 0
Parks Jordan lf………. 4 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 3
Alex Raburn rf……….. 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
Michael Massardo ph….. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Korey Dunbar c………. 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Hobbs Johnson p………. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Trevor Kelley p……… 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chris McCue p……….. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Trent Thornton p…….. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tate Parrish p………. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chris Munnelly p…….. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mason McCullough p…… 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Reilly Hovis p………. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals………………. 40 8 9 8 9 5 30 9 12

Georgia Tech 9 (32-20,14-13 ACC)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
——————————————————
Kyle Wren lf…………. 4 2 3 0 2 0 4 0 2
Brandon Thomas cf…….. 4 2 1 1 3 1 3 0 0
Zane Evans c/p……….. 7 0 2 2 0 2 2 1 3
Daniel Palka rf/p…….. 4 0 1 1 2 2 3 1 1
Sam Dove 3b………….. 6 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 6
A.J. Murray 1b……….. 4 0 0 0 1 1 12 0 0
Mott Hyde ss…………. 4 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 2
Matt Gonzalez dh……… 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0
Daniel Spingola rf…… 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Mitch Earnest c……… 2 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0
Thomas Smith 2b………. 5 1 1 0 1 0 3 6 2
Jonathan King p………. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cole Pitts p………… 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sam Clay p………….. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Joe Wiseman p……….. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jared Jillson p……… 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jonathan Roberts p…… 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals………………. 44 9 14 6 11 8 33 12 18

Score by Innings R H E
———————————————-
North Carolina…… 000 304 100 00 – 8 9 1
Georgia Tech…….. 000 012 203 01 – 9 14 0
———————————————-

Note: None out, 2 runners LOB when the game ended.

E – Zolk, M(8). DP – Georgia Tech 2. LOB – UNC 12; Georgia Tech 18. 2B –
Moran, C(9); Gonzalez, M(8). 3B – Thomas, B(3). HR – Hyde, M(3). HBP –
Stubbs, C; Jordan, P 2; Raburn, A; Wren, K; Murray, A. SB – Frank, C 2(17);
Hyde, M(6). CS – Jordan, P(3).

North Carolina IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
————————————————–
Hobbs Johnson……. 4.2 5 1 1 5 5 18 24 96
Trevor Kelley……. 0.2 0 1 0 1 1 2 3 13
Chris McCue……… 1.0 4 3 2 0 1 8 8 34
Trent Thornton…… 2.1 3 3 3 2 1 10 13 56
Tate Parrish…….. 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
Chris Munnelly…… 1.1 0 0 0 1 0 4 5 22
Mason McCullough…. 0.0 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 11
Reilly Hovis…….. 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 5

Georgia Tech IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
————————————————–
Jonathan King……. 3.1 3 3 3 5 1 12 20 66
Cole Pitts………. 1.2 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 26
Sam Clay………… 0.2 4 4 4 1 0 6 7 29
Joe Wiseman……… 0.0 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 7
Jared Jillson……. 0.2 0 1 1 1 0 2 3 12
Jonathan Roberts…. 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 3 3 9
Daniel Palka…….. 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 13
Zane Evans………. 3.0 0 0 0 1 3 9 10 36

Win – Evans, Z (1-2). Loss – McCullough,M (0-1). Save – None.
WP – Johnson, H(3); McCue, C 2(7); Thornton, T(4). HBP – by King, J (Jordan, P);
by King, J (Jordan, P); by King, J (Raburn, A); by Johnson, H (Murray, A); by
Pitts, C (Stubbs, C); by Thornton, T (Wren, K). Pitches/strikes: Johnson, H
96/58; Kelley, T 13/6; McCue, C 34/24; Thornton, T 56/33; Parrish, T 1/1;
Munnelly, C 22/11; McCullough,M 11/3; Hovis, R 5/3; King, J 66/32; Pitts, C
26/13; Clay, S 29/18; Wiseman, J 7/1; Jillson, J 12/4; Roberts, J 9/5; Palka, D
13/7; Evans, Z 36/22.
Umpires – HP: Barry Chambers 1B: Tony Walsh 3B: AJ Lostaglio
Start: 1:02 PM Time: 4:31 Attendance: 2152
Weather: Sunny, low 70s
Wiseman, J faced 2 batters in the 6th.
Parrish, T faced 1 batter in the 9th.
Game: NCBS51