University of North Carolina Athletics
A Look Back At 2003
May 28, 2003 | Softball
May 28, 2003
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The 2003 season turned out to be one of the finest in UNC history. The Tar Heels returned to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year layoff, for the second time in school history receiving an at-large bid from the NCAA Committee. North Carolina finished the season with an overall record of 40-22-1 and a 4-3 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Carolina broke a school record winning 15 consecutive games midway through the season and smacked a team best 40 home runs. UNC was sent to one of the tougher regionals in Fresno, Calif., and ended the NCAA Tournament 1-2.
UNC opened regional action against No. 25 Michigan State and fell 9-1 in five innings of play. Carolina then rolled past Long Island, 10-2 in five innings of work, before falling to host Fresno State, 2-0.
The Tar Heels broke three school records against North Carolina A&T on March 25. Carolina had eight straight hits, scoring 10 runs in the seventh inning to set new school records in both as UNC downed the Aggies 13-0. The Heels slugged 21 hits in the game, also a new school record, and freshman Jaclyn Holden broke the school, and conference records, with five hits in the game, ending 5-for-5.
Carolina defeated a top 10 opponent this year on April 19 against ninth-ranked Georgia in Athens. UNC trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning, with two outs, when senior outfielder Quinn Porter smashed a walk-off home run over the right field fence and gave UNC a 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs. In the championship game of the tournament on April 20, No. 9 Georgia got a little bit of revenge with a 1-0 win, scoring a run in the seventh inning on a missed tag at the plate.
UNC lowered it's staff ERA by almost two points from a year ago, ending with an 1.61 team ERA (28th in the NCAA). Carolina finished just outside the top 30 in the nation with a .280 team batting average and a .962 fielding percentage. The Tar Heels hit 85 doubles, one shy of the school record set in 2000.
Carolina had two players named to the Louisville Slugger All-America teams for the first time in school history. Senior Tiffany Tolleson earned All-America honors (third team) for the second consecutive season, while Holden earned third team honors capping off the best freshman season ever in UNC history.
Tolleson ended her two-year career at UNC (transferred from Stetson in 2002) as the school's top hitter, batting .407. She stole 102 bases in two seasons becoming the all-time leader at Carolina and finished third in NCAA history with 195 career stolen bases, just one shy of tying the NCAA record of 196. She holds five school records at UNC-batting average for a career, stolen bases for a season (57) and career, runs scored in a season (52) and hits for a single season (92).
Holden had the best rookie season ever at Carolina and ended the season breaking a school record with 26 doubles and tied another record with 140 total bases. She hit 12 home runs (second best in school history), drove in 52 runs (also second best) and had a slugging percentage of .765 (tops in ACC history). She earned first team All-Southeast Region honors to become the second Tar Heel to accomplish that feat in her freshman year (Natalie Anter, 1999).
Honors Abound
