University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Travel To Fresno, Calif., for NCAA Softball Tournament
May 13, 2003 | Softball
May 13, 2003
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Tar Heel Softball
The North Carolina softball team dropped both games at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament last weekend, 3-1, to No. 3 seed Georgia Tech and 9-8 in eight innings to No. 5 seed Maryland to fall to 39-20-1 on the season. Despite losing three of their last four games, the Tar Heels ended the season 29-7-1 in their last 37 games and tied a school record with 39 home runs (2002, 2003).
Carolina ended in the top two in every category in the ACC, which placed three of its five teams in the NCAA Tournament. UNC enters the tourney hitting .280 with 84 doubles and 16 triples and carries a fielding percentage of .963.
Records 'A' Breaking
Carolina and Maryland combined for 17 runs in the ACC Tournament last Saturday which set a new tournament record. The Tar Heels also tied a school record in home runs this season.
The Tar Heels broke three school records against North Carolina A&T on March 25, banging out 21 hits to break the old record of 20 against Coastal Carolina (3/20/94). UNC also scored 10 runs in the seventh inning and slugged nine consecutive hits, also school records.
Head Coach Donna Papa
Donna Papa is in her 20th season as a head coach, and 18th at Carolina, sitting with an overall record of 662-380-4 (.635). She is 633-379-4 at North Carolina (.625) and ranks second all-time in the ACC behind Florida State's JoAnne Graf.
Papa has led the Tar Heels to one ACC Championship, in 2001, and is participating in the NCAA Tournament for the second time (2001, 2003).
Against the Tournament Field
Carolina is 7-17 this season against the NCAA Tournament field. The Tar Heels faced No. 2 seed Georgia on April 18 and 19, downing the Bulldogs 2-1 in eight innings on Saturday and falling in the Georgia Tournament championship game, 1-0, on Sunday.
UNC also has wins over Michigan (3-1), Georgia Tech (3-1), Chattanooga (2-0, 7-5), Tennessee Tech (6-1) and Bethune-Cookman (10-2/6 inn.).
The Tar Heels has dropped games to South Carolina (3-0, 4-0), Stanford (6-0), Nebraska (4-1), Florida (2-1/8 inn., 7-1), Texas (7-0), Michigan (1-0), Massachusetts (80/6 inn.), Northwestern (8-0/5 inn.), Hofstra (1-0), Washington (4-0), Hawaii (5-3), Florida State (1-0, 4-0) and Georgia Tech (3-1).
Head-To-Head With Region 2
The Tar Heels open up regional play against No. 3 seed Michigan State. The Spartans and Heels have met four times since 1984 (the first year of fastpitch for UNC) and split the series 2-2. Carolina won the last meeting, 9-4, at the Buzz Classic in Marietta, Ga., on March 23, 2002.
UNC has never played No. 1 seed UCLA, No. 5 seed Long Beach State or No. 7 seed Long Island. Carolina dropped its only decision versus No. 4 seed and host Fresno State, 2-0, on March 17, 2001. The Tar Heels are 2-0 against No. 8 seed Colgate, winning the last meeting 11-3 (5) back on March 20, 1999.
Three Tar Heels Collect ACC Honors Senior Tiffany Tolleson and freshman Jaclyn Holden were named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team on Thursday, May 8, in Tallahassee, Fla., at the ACC Tournament. Tolleson led the Heels for the second straight season in batting average and led the ACC in hits (77) and stolen bases (44). She has 194 career stolen bases heading into the NCAA Regional, two shy of the Division I record of 196.
Holden led the ACC in doubles (25/new UNC record), slugging percentage (.761/ACC record) and total bases (138/four shy of a school record). She is hitting .392 on the season and leads Carolina with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs.
At the ACC Tournament
The Tar Heels opened up tournament play as the No. 2 seed and faced No. 3 seed Georgia Tech. After a two week layoff, Carolina showed signs of rust as the Tar Heels committed three errors that led to two unearned runs en route to falling by two, 3-1. It was the most errors UNC has had since Feb. 28, when the Tar Heels committed four errors against Florida in the Texas Tournament.
North Carolina was also held to just two hits in the ballgame by Georgia Tech's Jessica Sallinger, on which UNC scored three runs in four innings the last time the teams played on April 17.
UNC's second game of the tournament, the Tar Heels squared off against No. 5 seed Maryland, for what turned out to be the weekend's best game. Carolina stormed out of the gates scoring four runs in the first inning and one more in the second to grab a 5-0 lead.
Maryland scored six runs in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead 6-5.
The Tar Heels responded with two runs in the fourth inning to take their second lead of the game. UM, not to be outdone, tallied two runs of its own in the bottom of the fourth as UNC trailed 8-7.
Neither team managed a run in the next two innings as the Tar Heels came to bat in the seventh trying to stave off elimination.
Junior Emily Price (Decatur, Ill.) led off the inning with a walk. After two foul bunts, Price was picked off on a pitch out to dash Carolina's hopes of getting a runner in scoring position.
Then, on the very next pitch, junior Dionne Streete (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) sent a fastball over the center field fence to save Carolina's hopes of moving forward in the championship.
Maryland was held scoreless in the bottom of the seventh inning and UNC put its first two runners on base in the top of the eighth inning, but was unable to capitalize.
Maryland came to its final at bat determined to knock the Tar Heels out of the tournament. After a leadoff walk, Maryland's Samantha Sweeney stole second base on an attempted pick off and scored on a single up the middle to prevent UNC from making its third straight ACC Championship game appearance.
Homecoming
Five Tar Heels will be making their way home this weekend. Sophomore Jessica Young (Santa Ana, Calif.) and freshmen Michelle Hoffmann (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Alison Yin (Glendale, Calif.), Jaclyn Holden (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and Megan Welch (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) will be playing in their home state for the first time this season.
Holden Sets Single-Season Bests
First baseman Jaclyn Holden solidified one of the best seasons in school history, breaking the school record with 25 doubles in a single season, two shy of the ACC record of 27. She established a new single-season record against Maryland on April 28 with her 22nd and 23rd doubles of the season.
Holden ranks second on the team with a .392 batting average and leads the ACC in doubles, total bases (134) and slugging percentage (.761). Holden ranks second in the ACC with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs, both second in UNC history for a single-season (15 HR and 55 RBI are the school records).
Holden owns one single game school record going 5-for-5 against North Carolina A&T earlier this season. The previous record was four hits in a game held by four different Tar Heels.
She tied a tournament record with two doubles against Maryland in Game 4 of the ACC Tournament, ending 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
The Fab Four
Along with Jaclyn Holden, freshmen pitchers Crystal Cox (Harrisburg, N.C.) and Alison Yin, plus second baseman Megan Welch have been keys to UNC's success this season.
Cox has tallied 24 wins this season, which places her third all-time in school history for a single season. She ranks in the top 20 in the nation with a 1.06 ERA and has fanned 245 batters this season, five shy of the UNC record.
Yin missed the final two weeks due to a rib injury, but returned to action in the ACC Tournament. She pitched 5.1 innings versus Maryland, surrendering seven hits, three runs, two earned runs and struck out three. Yin is 12-5 on the year with a 1.73 ERA.
Welch has solidifed the two spot in the Carolina lineup and has been tremendous on both defense and offense. She heads into the weekend hitting .312, with nine doubles, six home runs, five triples (best in the ACC), and 31 RBIs (third on the UNC squad). She carries a .982 fiedling percentage at second base and has started in 59 games at the position.
Supporting Cast
Senior leftfielder Quinn Porter (Wesley Chapel, Fla.), catcher Anna Tharrington (Rocky Mount, N.C.) and juniors Emily Price, Dionne Streete and Natashalyn Snipes (Durham, N.C.) have also been instrumental to UNC's success.
Porter got off to a slow start this season but ended the regular season on a nine-game hitting streak. She smacked a three-run homer against Maryland at the ACC Tournament and upped her average to .258, with six home runs, 13 doubles (fifth in the ACC) and 33 RBIs.
She ranks sixth all-time in school history with 102 career RBIs. She hit a walk-off home run versus No. 9 Georgia on April 19 in Athens, Ga., to give Carolina its first top 10 win in school history.
Tharrington waited patiently behind four-time All-ACC and All-Region peformer Natalie Anter for three seasons before assuming the starting role behind the plate. She is hitting .197 this season and has allowed just four passed balls. Tharrington threw out the nation's top runner Nicole Barber of Georgia twice in the Georgia Tournament, April 18-20.
Price ranks third on the Carolina squad with a .329 batting average, almost 80 points higher than last year's average. She has hit five game-winning home runs this season and has eight for the year. Price has 11 doubles, two triples and 25 RBIs heading into the regional tournament. She has started in all 60 games at short stop.
Streete has started in 59 games at third base and has started in every game but three since her freshman season. Streete has come on strong to end the season going 5-for-7 against Maryland and is currently batting .234 with 15 RBIs, six doubles, three triples and three home runs.
Snipes has been solid for Carolina in right field, starting in 39 games this season. She began batting from the left side of the plate versus No. 9 Georgia April 19, and since then she is 6-for-21, for a .286 batting average.
Last Time At NCAA Regionals
The only other time North Carolina has qualified for the NCAA Tournament was back in 2001 when the Heels captured their first ACC title. UNC was shipped out to Norman, Okla., as a No. 4 seed.
Game 1: UMASS 4, UNC 2 - At OU Softball Complex, the Minutewomen got out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Third baseman Cherra Wheeler was hit by a pitch and replaced on first by pinch runner KC Budrewicz. Budrewicz advance to second on a sacrifice and third on a ground out then scored on an error.
UNC got on the board in the bottom of the third inning, scoring two runs to take a 2-1 lead. Second baseman Sarah Young led off the inning with a single, and center fielder Quinn Porter followed that with a single of her own. Right fielder Rosie Gustavson advanced the runners to second and third with her 13th sacrifice of the season. After a second Tar Heel out, catcher Natalie Anter doubled to right to score Young and Porter.
Carolina carried that lead into the top of the sixth inning, when UMass took the lead with a two-run double. After Emily Robustelli and Teri Rooney led off the inning with singles, first baseman Brandi Cross doubled to center to score the winning runs. The Minutewomen added another run in the top of the seventh when Anna Perey scored on a single by Cross, who had three RBI in the game.
Kaila Holtz picked up the win for UMass, allowing seven hits to the Tar Heels and striking out four. Radara McHugh took the loss for UNC. She struck out five and gave up seven hits and three earned runs.
Game 2: UNC 4, Lehigh 0 - Two seniors stepped up with big days at the plate against Lehigh to extend their careers. First baseman Beth Olen and designated player Carrie Bates both were 2-for 3 with one RBI each. Senior shortstop Michelle Semmes also had an RBI, as did junior catcher Natalie Anter.
Sophomore Michael Parrott earned the win to improve to 15-7. She struck out 12, walked two and gave up just three hits. The win was her eighth shutout of the season.
Game 4: Oklahoma 13, UNC 0 (5) - Shortstop Kelli Braitsch doubled down the right field line on the first pitch of the game (Oklahoma was designated the visiting team) and the Sooners picked up two walks to load the bases. Then catcher Ashli Barrett, the cleanup hitter, swatted a ball over the left field fence for a grand slam that put OU up 4-0 four batters into the game.
Oklahoma scored four more runs in the fourth and five in the fifth to better the eight-run margin needed to end the game after five innings. The Sooners used 12 hits and four Tar Heel errors to reach their 13-run total, a high by Carolina opponents this season. UNC lost 8-0 to Oklahoma in a tournament OU hosted, the Worth Invitational, back in March.
The Tar Heels had two hits, a second-inning single by designated player Kelly Ramsey and a fourth-inning double by right fielder Rosie Gustavson.
Softball College World Series
The eight winners from each regional site will compete for the 2003 Softball National Championship in Oklahoma City, Okla. The World Series will be played at the ASA Fame Softball Stadium. California is the defending national champion playing at Region 7 in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Golden Bears will open up with Oakland University.
The Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference fields five teams and will add its sixth team, North Carolina State, in 2004. The league does not have an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but will in the 2006 season.
The conference is sending three teams to the dance for the first time in league history (began in 1992). No. 10 Florida State has been the dominant force in the ACC, powering their way to a third place finish at the 2002 College Softball World Series.
TarHeelBlue.com
Media and fans can follow the Carolina softball team and the rest of the UNC athletic program from anywhere in the world on the official site of North Carolina athletics. TarHeelBlue.com offers schedules, rosters, results and more for all 28 of Carolina's varsity sports.
