University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Travel To Chattanooga
April 1, 2003 | Softball
April 1, 2003
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The University of North Carolina softball team travels to Chattanooga, Tenn., for a non-conference matchup against the Lady Mocs Wednesday, April 2 at 3 p.m. The Tar Heels enter the games winners of 16 of their last 17 and are rolling along with a record of 26-14. UNC finished 1-1 at the rain shortened Tar Heel Invitational downing East Carolina, 7-0, and falling to Hawai'i, 5-3. Carolina has upped its batting average to .275 on the season and are holding its opponents to a .177 average.
Chattanooga enters the mid-week doubleheader with an overall record of 22-21. The Lady Mocs dropped a three-game series to Appalachian State this past weekend 2-1. UNC and UTC have played seven common opponents, with Carolina downing six of them and Chattanooga only surviving two. UNC recently took care of the ASU Mountaineers, 7-0 and 5-1, at the UNC Softball Complex on March 27.
The Tar Heels are led by senior center fielder Tiffany Tolleson (Winter Haven, Fla.). Tolleson is hitting .453, with seven walks and six RBIs. Her 53 hits leads the Atlantic Coast Conference and so do her 30 stolen bases. Tolleson currently ranks third in Division I with 177 career stolen bases, needing only 20 more to take over first place.
Freshman first baseman Jaclyn Holden (Santa Clarita, Calif.) leads Carolina in five offensive categories-2B's (17), HR's (8), RBIs (31), SLG (.765) and total bases (88). Holden leads the ACC in doubles, home runs and RBIs and is currently batting .374, with 43 runs scored.
Junior short stop Emily Price (Decatur, Ill.) continues to be solid on both sides of the field for the Tar Heels. Price ranks second on the team with seven home runs, including two game-winners in the seventh inning, and third on the UNC squad with a .317 batting average. Price has 17 RBIs and leads the team with 13 free passes.
Senior left fielder Quinn Porter (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) got off to a slow start this season but has come on strong as of late. Porter was named ACC Player of the Week last week (3/24) after hitting .500 in the Buzz Classic (3/21-23), leading UNC to a runner-up finish behind No. 17 Florida State. She currently is hitting .260, with eight doubles, one triple, three home runs and 20 RBIs.
Right-handed pitcher Crystal Cox (Harrisburg, N.C.) has been dominating for most of the season. Cox had a nine-game winning streak snapped against Hawaii this past Saturday but still has a record of 15-7. Her 1.07 ERA and 160 strikeouts are currently second best in the ACC. Cox has two no-hitters on the season which is tops in the league.
The Tar Heels will return to Chapel Hill to open up ACC competition against 17th-ranked Florida State, Saturday, April 5 at 3 p.m. The Seminoles defeated Maryland last week and enter Saturday's games with a 28-9, 2-0 ACC mark.
