University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Travel to ACC Softball Tournament
June 21, 1999 | Softball
May 13, 1999
Carolina Softball
at the ACC Softball Tournament
Lady Seminole Field
Tallahassee, Fla.
May 14-16, 1999
Overall record: 40-20
ACC record: 4-4
Head coach: Donna Papa
Alma mater: Connecticut (1979)
Record at UNC: 468-291-2 (14th year)
Career record: 504-306-2 (16th year)
Assistant coaches: Beverly Smith (UNC 94), Victoria Huff (94)
Leading off
* At 40-20, Carolina is enjoying its best season since 1993, which was the last time the Tar Heels reached the 40-win mark.
* UNC leads the ACC in team batting (.304) and fielding (968) and ranks in the top 20 nationally in both categories.
* The Tar Heels have hit 26 home runs this season, a team record. UNC has also set team season records for runs scored (291), hits (479) and stolen bases (83).
* Sophomore pitcher Radara McHugh has set UNC single-season records for appearances, games started, innings pitched and wins.
* Sophomore shortstop Michelle Semmes leads the team in batting average at .368.
* Freshman Natalie Anter, a catcher/designated player, leads the team in RBI with 41 and home runs with seven.
UNC in the ACC Tournament
Carolina is the No. 3 seed in the ACC Softball Tournament, after finishing the season tied for third place in the conference with Virginia. The two teams posted identical 4-4 ACC records this season and after the standard tie-breaking procedures failed to differentiate the two, a blind draw was used.
UNC opens play Friday at 5 p.m. against second-seeded Florida State.
Looking back
North Carolina was the top seed in last year's ACC Tournament after finishing ACC play 6-2. The Tar Heels opened the tournament, also held at Lady Seminole Field in Tallahassee, Fla., with a 2-1 loss to Virginia then bounced back to defeat Maryland 4-0 before again falling to Virginia, 6-0.
Florida State claimed last year's title with a 2-1 win over Virginia.
UNC wrapped up the 1998 season with a record of 32-21.
Papa tops 500
With a 2-0 win at East Carolina on April 21, the Tar Heels earned coach Donna Papa the 500th win of her 16-year career. She is now 504-306-2 in 14 years at North Carolina and two at Susquehanna. Her record with the Tar Heels is 468-291-2.
Papa, a 1979 graduate of the University of Connecticut, played four seasons with the Huskies. She served as an assistant coach at St. John's and UNC-Greensboro before moving into the top job at Susquehanna, where she also coached volleyball.
At Carolina, she has twice earned ACC Coach of the Year honors. This season marks the third time her UNC teams have earned 40 or more wins in a season.
Against the ACC in 1999
UNC finished the eight-game conference slate at 4-4, tied with Virginia for third place. The Tar Heels split with Virginia in Chapel Hill on April 3 and 4, split with Florida State in Chapel Hill on April 9, were swept at Maryland on April 18 and swept two from Georgia Tech in Atlanta on April 24 and 25.
North Carolina and Virginia also faced off in a non-conference game on March 5, with UNC winning 9-1.
1999 ACC results:
4/3 UNC d. Virginia, 4-2
4/4 Virginia d. UNC, 4-3
4/9 UNC d. Florida State, 6-0
4/9 Florida State d. UNC, 8-3
4/18 Maryland d. UNC, 9-3
4/18 Maryland d. UNC, 5-4
4/24 UNC d. Georgia Tech, 4-2
4/25 UNC d. Georgia Tech, 7-5
A tale of two seasons
The Tar Heels struggled against tough competition early in the season and were 11-13 upon returning from the National Invitational Softball Tournament, hosted by San Jose State, in mid-March. Back in Chapel Hill, however, UNC won its next eight games and 13 of the next 14. Through the rest of the season the Tar Heels were 29-7 and lost back-to-back games only once, in an April doubleheader at Maryland.
Seventh-inning dramatics
Several of Carolina's ACC games featured heart-stopping endings.
On April 18 at Maryland, in the second game of a doubleheader, Kelly Ramsey hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh to put UNC up 4-2 heading into Maryland's final at-bat. The Terps managed to load the bases with no outs then scored three runs on singles by Kiesha Pickeral and Fawna Lackovic to win 5-4.
On April 25 at Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets led 5-1 heading into the seventh inning. UNC scored two runs on a walk and a single to narrow the margin to 5-3. With two outs, sophomore Michelle Semmes stepped to the plate and hit a grand slam to center field. Carolina won the game 7-5.
Record-breaking Radara
Sophomore Radara McHugh has followed her 1998 ACC Rookie of the Year season with an equally impressive sophomore campaign. This season, she has set UNC season highs for appearances (42), games started (38), innings pitched (249.0) and wins (26). She is on pace to set UNC career marks in each of those categories.
She currently ranks fifth in the conference with an ERA of 1.97.
Home run happy
The Tar Heels have set a team single-season record for home runs with 26 this spring. The previous best was 25, in 1996. Last season, UNC totaled just 17.
Freshman Natalie Anter leads the team with seven, followed by junior Crystal Henderson with six and sophomore Michelle Semmes with five.
Carolina's home run total ranks second in the ACC this season to Maryland, which has hit 36.
Captains at the helm
This year's team captains are seniors Colleen Lefferts and Megan Smith. Lefferts is team's right fielder and has played in all 60 games. She is batting .295 and has a fielding percentage of 1.000. Recently, Lefferts was honored with the Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete award for the fourth time in her career.
Smith plays third base and is batting .257. She has 19 RBI on the season.
High-octane offense
Carolina offensive output has set several team records. The team's 479 hits is a program high, edging the 1996 team's 466 hits. This year's team has scored 291 runs, bettering the previous best of 291, also by the 1996 team.
Wearing out the base paths
The Tar Heels' total of 83 stolen bases this season (104 attempts) tops the previous UNC team best of 79 (102 attempts) in 1996. For the third season in a row, junior outfielder Crystal Henderson leads the team in steals. This season's 28 (in 29 attempts) bring her career total to 59. She is 14 short of the UNC record of 73 (90 attempts), held by Sonya Bright, who played from 1990-93.
The future's so bright
With right fielder Colleen Lefferts and third basemen Megan Smith the sole seniors departing after this season (Jen Klesaris expects to play another year after receiving a medical redshirt), Carolina will return plenty of experience for 2000. The Tar Heels' top six hitters are all underclassmen, and three of those are freshmen.
California girls
UNC boasts as many players from the state of California (five) as >from the state of North Carolina. All of the West Coast imports are freshmen and sophomores and all have made important contributions to this season's team.
* Freshman catcher/designated player Natalie Anter (Upland, Calif.) is batting .337 and leads the team in RBI with 41 and home runs with seven.
* Freshman Kelly Ramsey (Del Mar, Calif.) is also a catcher/designated player and is batting . 333, fourth on the team.
* Freshman Rosie Gustavson (Santa Ana, Calif.) has started 35 games in left field and been a regular pinch runner when not already in the game. She is batting .324, fifth on the team, and has stolen 11 bases, third-best on the team.
* Sophomore Carrie Bates (Santa Ana, Calif.) is batting .305, sixth on the team, and has started 33 games at catcher and designated player.
* Sophomore Erin Joseph (Upland, Calif.) is the Tar Heels' No. 2 pitcher and is 12-7 on the season with 20 starts.
Heels battle Dragons
UNC is coming off a break for final exams and hasn't played a game since April 27. (A doubleheader with East Carolina, scheduled for April 29, was rained out.)
On Tuesday, May 11, the Tar Heels scrimmaged eight innings against the Durham Dragons of the Women's Pro Softball League.
UNC in the NCAA standings
Team
atting: 19th
Fielding: 17th
Individual
Most victories: Radara McHugh, T13
UNC in the ACC standings
Team
atting: First, .304
Fielding: First, .968
Pitching: Third, 2.02 ERA
Individual
atting
3. Michelle Semmes .368
6. Crystal Henderson . 342
T8. Natalie Anter .337
Home runs
3. Natalie Anter 7/0.12 per game
4. Crystal Henderson 6/0.11 per game
RBI
2. Natalie Anter 41/0.68 per game
4. Michelle Semmes 35/0.56 per game
Doubles
4. Crystal Henderson 11/0.21 per game
Triples
T3. Crystal Henderson 4/0.08
Stolen Bases
2. Crystal Henderson 28-29/0.53
ERA
5. Radara McHugh 1.97
7. Erin Joseph 2.09
Victories
3. Radara McHugh 26-12/.667
5. Erin Joseph 12-7/.632
ACC Pitchers/Players of the Week
March 8: Radara McHugh (pitcher)
* Won three of four starts, striking out seven and allowing 11 runs
March 22: Natalie Anter (player)
* Batted .480 with three doubles, a triple and two homers in nine games
March 22: Erin Joseph (pitcher)
* Won all five starts and gave up just six runs, five earned
April 5: Natalie Anter (player)
*Batted .538 for the week with all four RBI in a 4-2 win over Campbell
April 12: Michelle Semmes (player)
* Batted .615 with a double and a triple over four games
April 26: Radara McHugh (pitcher)
* Earned three wins and gave up no earned runs in 16 innings pitched
