University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 24 UNC Hosts NC State
April 13, 2012 | Softball
April 13, 2012
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-- No. 24 North Carolina (29-10, 6-3 ACC) welcomes NC State (21-22, 3-8 ACC) for a three-game set April 14-15 at Anderson Stadium. The Tar Heels and Wolfpack will square off in a doubleheader Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m., which will also feature the Fourth Annual Strike Out Cancer Event. The series' finale will start at 1 p.m. Sunday, which will celebrate senior Ally Blake.
A silent auction will take place during Saturday's doubleheader for a Carolina team helmet, signed by NFCA Hall of Fame head coach Donna J. Papa. Carolina softball t-shirts will also be for sale throughout the weekend for $25. All proceeds from the auction and t-shirt sales will be donated to the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Jamie Shaver Mayberry's name to treat ovarian cancer. Jamie Shaver Mayberry will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Saturday's doubleheader.
The series' finale on Sunday will also feature Ally Blake, celebrating the senior infielder's four-year Carolina career. Cathy Claris, a member of the first UNC softball team at North Carolina in 1977, will be throwing out the first pitch.
If fans would like to purchase a T-shirt, but cannot make it to the game, you can write a check to Donna J. Papa. You can make the check out to the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center in Jamie's name, earmarked for ovarian cancer research.
Address to send the check:
Anderson Stadium
912 Raleigh Rd.
Chapel Hill, N.C.
27515
AT A GLANCE
Records: Carolina 29-10, 6-3 ACC. NC State 21-22, 3-8 ACC.
Rankings: Carolina moved back a notch to No. 24 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches' poll and held steady in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll at No. 24. NC State is unranked.
TV/Radio/Live Stats:
• You can follow the action from Game One live on GameTracker.
• You can follow the action from Game Two live on GameTracker.
• You can follow the action from Game Three live on GameTracker.
SCOUTING THE TEAMS: North Carolina just wrapped up an eight-game road swing and is riding a five-game winning streak. The Tar Heels swept Virginia in Charlottesville, April 6-7, and just swept a midweek twinbill Wednesday, April 11, at UNC Greensboro by scores of 11-0 and 10-0. Ally Blake, Haleigh Dickey and Kelli Wheeler each tallied a home run in the victories over the Spartans and Lori Spingola (21-8) and Ashley Bone (4-1) each tossed shutouts.
NC State is in the midst of a six-game winning streak, including a doubleheader sweep of Campbell at Dail Stadium Wednesday, April 11. The Wolfpack won the first game, 3-2, and shut out the Fighting Camels in game two, 3-0. Emily Weiman secured her second shutout of the season in the game-two victory. Weiman surrendered only three hits and struck out eight Camel batters in the complete game effort. Renada Davis paced the Pack at the plate in game two, going 1-for-2 and Scout Alberton was responsible for two of State's three runs. After losing its first eight league games, NCSU swept Boston College at home April 6-7, in its last conference action.
SERIES RECORDS: Carolina and NC State have faced each other 28 times, with the Wolfpack owning a 15-13 advantage in the all-time series since 1994, which marks the inception of the NC State program . UNC has won nine of the last 12 matchups with the Pack. In their last meeting, the Tar Heels dropped the series' opener to State, 3-1, before taking the final two game by scores of 10-2 (6) and 6-0 at Dail Stadium April 9-10, 2011.
CLIMBING THE POLLS: The NCAA released the 2012 season's third Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and the Tar Heels remained at No. 23 which marks the second-highest rating of any school in the Atlantic Coast Conference, trailing only Florida State (No. 15). UNC moved down one spot in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches' poll to No. 24 and remained at No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
LIFE ON THE ROAD: After wrapping up an eight-game road swing, Carolina has posted a 9-3 ledger on the road to date, including its most recent twinbill sweep at UNC Greensboro Wednesday, April 11. The Tar Heels also own a 6-3 road record in ACC play.
JACK OF ALL TRADES: Ally Blake has started at four different positions in the Tar Heel lineup, appearing as catcher, second baseman, short stop and the designated player. The senior from Concord, N.C., is eighth in the ACC in batting average (.323), tied for second on the team with seven doubles and is tied for third in home runs (5). Blake is also in the midst of a six-game hitting streak, dating back to April 2, at Florida State.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Five Tar Heels are batting over .300 on the season: Amy Nece (.368), Kelli Wheeler (.342), Logan Foulks (.336), Ally Blake (.323) and Constance Orr (.302). Three Tar Heels also rank in the top-10 of the ACC in batting average: Nece leads the league with a .368 average, followed by Wheeler (sixth/.342) and Foulks (ninth/.336).p>
POTENT TAR HEEL OFFENSE: Carolina boasts a potent offense, ranking 32nd in the country in home runs per game at 0.94 clip and is 65th in runs per game with a 4.81 average. UNC also leads the ACC in doubles (49), slugging percentage (.453) and the Tar Heels are second in batting average (.283), home runs (38) and are fifth in RBI (182).
TAR HEELS DIG THE LONG BALL: Displaying power at the plate, seven Tar Heels have notched double-digit home runs in 2012: Logan Foulks (7), Kelli Wheeler (7), Haleigh Dickey (6), Ally Blake (5), Constance Orr (5), Jordan Scarboro (3) and Jenna Kelly (3).
PLAYING THE FIELD: Carolina is also stout defensively, ranking second in the conference and 50th nationally in fielding percentage (0.969). Moreover, UNC owns the second-lowest ERA in the ACC (2.17), which also ranks 41st in the nation.
IN THE ZONE: Lori Spingola was just named ACC Pitcher of the Week for the third time in 2012--seventh time in her career--following a 2-0 week. Spingola picked up two wins and a save in a series sweep at Virginia April 6-7. The Atlanta, Ga., native struck out 12 batters and allowed one earned run as she went the distance in the first game to earn the 3-2 Tar Heel victory. In game two, she threw a complete game shutout, tallying nine strikeouts. In the series' finale, she enterened in relief in the bottom of the seventh inning in a one-run game and struck out her only batter faced to earn her first save of the 2012 season. Spingola is tied for fifth in the country in total victories (21), is ninth in the nation in strikeouts with 220, is tied for second nationally with 11 shutouts and is 17th in strikeouts per seven innings (9.0).
DICKEY STEPPING UP: Haleigh Dickey recorded her first career grand slam in the win over South Carolina March 21, en route to garnering Player of the Week honors. The sophomore infielder from Woodstock, Ga., leads the team in RBI (31), is tied for third in home runs (5) and is tied for the team-lead in doubles (8). Dickey also leads the Tar Heels in multiple-RBI games this season with 10.
CLOSING IN ON GREATNESS: Kelli Wheeler belted her seventh home run of 2012 in the Tar Heels' game-two victory at UNC Greensboro April 11, leaving her just one shy of tying the school record for career home runs (34), set by Natalie Anter between 1999-2002. The Marietta, Ga., native is turning in a stellar senior season, as she ranks second on the team in batting average (.342)and leads the team in both slugging percentage (.615) and on-base percentage (.446). Wheeler also leads the team in runs scored (31), total hits (40), total bases (72) and walks (19).
BREAKING OUT: Amy Nece is having a breakout sophomore campaign for Carolina. The centerfielder from Redlands, Calif., leads the Tar Heels and the league in batting average (.368). Nece is also second on the team in multiple-hit games (9) and is second in on-base percentage (.415).
