By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Eastern Alamance alum Kenna Raye Dark fired her second collegiate no-hitter for North Carolina’s softball team last week in Chapel Hill.
Dark, a senior right-hander, struck out eight batters without a walk when the Tar Heels defeated visiting Queens 8-0 in a game reduced to six innings by the run rule. She retired the first 12 batters before Lindsay Henson of Queens reached on an infield error to begin the fifth inning.
Dark, who improved to 5-1 this season across 16 appearances, became the ninth pitcher in program history with more than one career no-hitter.
Later last week, Dark suffered the loss in an 11-6 series-opening setback to visiting Duke, which won two of three games.
Then on Tuesday, former Clover Garden student Lexie Roberts of Mebane drove in three North Carolina runs in a 7-3 non-league victory at East Carolina.
Other softball
Elon won two of three Coastal Athletic Association games against visiting Hampton, highlighted by 8-0 victories Friday and Sunday at Hunt Softball Park.
Anna Dew threw two-hitters in both triumphs, which ended with run-rule outcomes in five and six innings. Hampton won 6-2 on Saturday, when the Phoenix was held to three hits.
Elon (13-27, 7-8 CAA) is at Campbell on Friday through Sunday.
Baseball
Gar Hindle’s first career home run was a grand slam in the eighth inning as Elon’s baseball team defeated William & Mary 9-4 to avoid a Coastal Athletic Association sweep Sunday afternoon at Latham Park. It was the first grand slam for an Elon freshman in nearly four years.
Elon relievers Sam Nomura (1-1), Cole Taylor, and Mike Staiano kept the Tribe scoreless for the final four innings. The Phoenix scored three times in the seventh before Hindle’s blast.
Elon lost 9-4 and 13-1 (in seven innings) in the first two games of the series. The Phoenix led 6-4 going to the ninth inning in Friday night’s opener. In Saturday’s loss, Elon’s run came on Gavin Bogdanchik’s seventh-inning home run as one of the team’s three hits.
In Tuesday night’s non-league game, visiting Winthrop beat Elon 13-3.
Elon (14-22, 6-12 CAA) is at Campbell on Friday through Sunday.
Women’s lacrosse
Elon’s three-game winning streak ended with Sunday’s 19-6 home loss to No. 12 Stanford at Rudd Field.
Mackenzie Coleman scored two goals for Elon (7-7), which was coming off Friday’s 11-10 double-overtime victory at Campbell on Lizzie Scalzo’s game-winning goal.
Stanford (12-3) had lost 18-9 at No. 2 North Carolina on Friday.
Men’s golf
Elon freshman Drew Yeagley shot 7-under-par 203 (64, 68, 71) to tie for fourth place in the Tar Heel Intercollegiate on Saturday and Sunday at Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill. North Carolina was the team champion, while Elon was ninth among 16 teams.
