University of North Carolina Athletics
Spaulding Leads Sharx With Bat
August 19, 2009 | Softball
Aug. 19, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Danielle Spaulding let her bat do the talking Wednesday in the European Cup Championships after pitching the first three games in Milan, Italy. Spaulding led the Austrian Sharx to their second victory in pool A defeating Greece 7-0.
The Rancho Cuchamonga, Calif. native belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the second to give the Austrian team their first lead of the day. Spaulding went 1-2 with three RBI, she reached base on a dropped pop fly later in the game, to bring her tournament average to .400. The junior also has pitched 13 innings over the course of three games posting a 0.54 ERA and leading the tournament with 27 strikeouts.
The two-time ACC player of the year is one of a few Americans with college eligibility remaining. The victory puts the Austrian Sharx at (2-2) in pool A, placing them third behind Italian champions Fiorini Forli and Dutch Champion Tex Town Tigers.
Spaulding helped the Tar Heels to a 47-13 record in 2009 and a spot as an NCAA regional host for the second straight season. The standout junior led the Tar Heels in home runs (12) and RBIs (45), while ranking third in runs scored (22) and fourth in batting average (.311). In the circle, she paired with fellow teammate Lisa Norris to provide one of the strongest pitching duos in the country. The junior registered 13 complete games holding opponents to only a .124 batting average.
Spaulding is only the second player in school history to earn multiple NFCA All-America awards, earning NFCA All-America second-team in 2008. Spaulding, the third-team utility/pitcher selection in 2009, also joins fellow ACC standouts Sarah Hamilton of Florida State and Jenna Rhodes of Virginia Tech as third-team selections. This year marks the first time in league history at least three players have earned NFCA All-America honors. Hamilton was second in the country in strikeouts per seven innings with 10.8, nearly four punch-outs less than Carolina's Spaulding.
