University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Heads To Leadoff Classic
February 20, 2003 | Softball
Feb. 20, 2003
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The University of North Carolina softball team will face its toughest challenge of the season with games against No. 3 Nebraska, No. 12 Stanford and Southern Mississippi at the Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., Friday, Feb. 21-23. The Tar Heels will begin bracket play Saturday at 5:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. which runs through Sunday, Feb. 23. UNC will face Stanford at noon and Nebraska at 2 p.m. on Friday and Southern Miss at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
"We are very excited about the upcoming tournament with the quality teams that will be there," said head coach Donna Papa. "We're really looking forward to the challenge of playing ranked teams and see where we stand.
"Our team has a lot of confidence heading into the weekend after winning our last four games but we know that the competition and the pitching is going to be a lot tougher."
Freshman first baseman Jaclyn Holden (Santa Clarita, Calif.) continues to be hot with the bat. The reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week has hit safely in her last four games and is 9-for-10, with seven RBI, five doubles, two home runs and four walks.
Senior center fielder Tiffany Tolleson (Winter Haven, Fla.) is off to a fast start for Carolina as well. Tolleson is leading the team with a .520 batting average and eight stolen bases.
Junior short stop Emily Price (Decatur, Ill.) has caught fire as of late for the Tar Heels. In her last two ballgames, Price hammered two home runs and went 5-for-6, with five RBI. Price is currently hitting .350 for the Heels and is second on the team with a .700 slugging percentage.
Freshman second baseman Megan Welch (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) is also hitting the ball well for the Tar Heels. Welch has reached base in six of the eight games this season and ranks third on the Carolina squad with a .368 batting average. Welch has also been solid on defense making all 23 plays at second.
A duo of freshman are leading UNC on the mound-Crystal Cox (Harrisburg, N.C.) and Alison Yin (Glendale, Calif.). Cox has won her last three starts and stands at 3-1. She is coming off a one-hit complete game shutout against UNC Wilmington (Feb. 19) and a no-hitter back on Feb. 12 against East Carolina. Cox is averaging almost seven strikeouts per game and has an ERA of 1.00.
Yin has started out the season 2-0. She came into the game against Dayton (Feb. 14) in the third inning and got out of a bases loaded jam. She ended the game giving up just one hit and no runs for her first win as a Tar Heel. Yin then pitched five good innings against UNCW (Feb. 19) allowing just one run on three hits. She currently ranks second on the team with a 1.80 ERA.
Carolina's first opponent will be No. 12 Stanford who enters this weekend with a 10-2 record. The Cardinals are 2-2 versus ranked teams and are hitting .296 as a team.
The third-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers will be next for UNC. The Cornhuskers are off to a 9-1 start this season with their only loss coming to No. 1 UCLA. Nebraska has defeated six ranked teams including defending national champion California 6-1.
The final opponent for the Tar Heels in pool play will be Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles are currently 5-3 on the season. Southern Miss heads into the tournament hitting .246 and have won five of their last seven games.
North Carolina will host Radford Feb. 25 at the UNC Softball Complex. The non-conference doubleheader will begin at 3 p.m.
