University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 21 UNC Welcomes Yellow Jackets
April 20, 2012 | Softball
April 20, 2012
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-- Winners of 10 straight contests, No. 21 North Carolina looks to extend its unbeaten streak as it welcomes Atlantic Coast Conference foe Georgia Tech for a three-game set April 21-22 from Anderson Stadium. The Tar Heels and Yellow Jackets will square off in a doubleheader, beginning Saturday at 1 p.m. and will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. for the series finale.
On Saturday the Carolina softball program will hold Senior Day, celebrating the careers of Ally Blake, Kelsey Green and Kelli Wheeler. Also, Sunday will be "Kelsey Green & Kelli Wheeler Day," where fans can pick up offical player cards, honoring the careers of Green and Wheeler and have the seniors autograph them in the concourse of Anderson Stadium following the game.
AT A GLANCE
Records: Carolina 34-10, 9-3 ACC, Georgia Tech 31-18, 10-5 ACC.
Rankings: Carolina ascended three spots in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches' poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll to No. 21. Georgia Tech is receiving votes in both polls.
TV/Radio/Live Stats:
• You can follow the action against Georgia Tech Game One live on GameTracker.
• You can follow the action against Georgia Tech Game Two live on GameTracker.
• You can follow the action against Georgia Tech Game Three live on GameTracker.
SCOUTING THE TEAMS: North Carolina has won 10 straight games and 12 of its last 14, including a doubleheader sweep of Hampton at home Thursday, April 19. UNC broke open a tie score in the bottom of the third inning, scoring 11 runs on nine hits, including five home runs and rolled to a 12-2 victory over Hampton University Thursday afternoon at Anderson Stadium. Trailing 4-0 in the third inning of game two, the Tar Heels scored 12 unanswered runs en route to a 12-4 win, sweeping the doubleheader with the Pirates. The five home runs by UNC in the third inning of game one tied an NCAA record and is only the sixth time the feat has been accomplished. The last time a team tallied five home runs in a single frame was Feb. 9, 2012, by Oregon State in a season-opening win over BYU.
Georgia Tech is coming off a three-game set at Florida State, where all three games were decided by one run. The Yellow Jackets upset FSU, 5-4, in the opening game of the series before falling by scores of 7-6 and 5-4 in the final two games. Tech is paced offensively by Kelsi Weseman, Ashley Thoams and Alysha Rudnick, all of whom are batting over .300 on the season. Hope Rush leads the Jackets in the circle, posting a 20-11 record in 32 starts in 2012 to go along with a 2.15 ERA.
SERIES RECORDS: Carolina and Georgia Tech have faced each other 59 times, with the Yellow Jackets owning a 31-28 advantage in the all-time series. Georgia Tech has won six of the last seven matchups. In their last meeting, the Yellow Jackets swept the Tar Heels in a three-game series April 16-17, at Mewborn Field in Atlanta, Ga.
CLIMBING THE POLLS: The NCAA released the 2012 season's fourth Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and the Tar Heels are rated No. 28, which marks the third-highest rating in the Atlantic Coast Conference, trailing only Florida State (No. 15) and Georgia Tech (No. 25). UNC ascended three spots in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches' poll to No. 21 and is ranked No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. Carolina's No. 21 ranking is the highest of any school in the ACC and marks the highest the Tar Heels have been ranked since 2009.
LIFE ON THE ROAD: After recently 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.
HOME COOKING:The Tar Heels boast an 11-1 record at home, with its lone loss coming to Notre Dame, 6-5, on Feb 25. Since then, Carolina has reeled off ten straight home victories, including its most recent three-game sweep of NC State April 14-15 and doubleheader sweep of Hampton April 19. UNC also owns a 8-0 record at home in midweek tilts, dating back to a twinbill sweep of Longwood on March. 22.
JACK OF ALL TRADES: Ally Blake has started at four different positions in the Tar Heel lineup, appearing as catcher, second baseman, shortstop and the designated player. The senior from Concord, N.C., is ninth in the ACC in batting average (.330) and is eighth in the conference in slugging percentage (.560) and runs scored (28). Blake has put together a 10-game hitting streak, dating back to April 2 at Florida State and went a combined 2-for-3 in her last outing against Hampton and drew three walks.
BAD TO THE BONE: Ashley Bone has been on a tear of late, winning her last four starts and tossing back-to-back shutouts in two of her last three outings. The native of Rocky Mount, N.C., threw a four-hit shutout at UNC Greensboro April 11, walking two batters and striking out four in the complete-game effort. The sophomore pitcher followed that up with a six-hit shutout of NC State at home April 14, striking out three batters and walking none in seven innings of work. Bone leads the ACC with only two home runs allowed in 2012 and is second in the conference in hits allowed (61), runs allowed (21), earned runs allowed (18) and walks allowed (22).
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Five Tar Heels are batting .300 or better on the season: Amy Nece (.380), Logan Foulks (.342), Ally Blake (.330), Kelli Wheeler (.328), and Constance Orr (.300). Four Tar Heels also rank in the top-10 of the ACC in batting average: Nece leads the league with a .380 average, followed by Foulks (sixth/.342), Blake (ninth/.330) and Wheeler (10th/.328).
POTENT TAR HEEL OFFENSE: Carolina boasts a potent offense, ranking 29th in the country in home runs per game at 0.98 clip and is 46th in runs per game with a 5.17 average. UNC also leads the ACC in batting average (.287), slugging percentage (.457), home runs (41), and doubles (52). The Tar Heels are second in the league in total bases (487), are third in sacrifice bunts (36) and third in RBI (193).
TAR HEELS DIG THE LONG BALL: Displaying power at the plate, eight Tar Heels have notched double-digit home runs in 2012: Logan Foulks (9), Kelli Wheeler (9), Haleigh Dickey (9), Ally Blake (6), Constance Orr (7), Jordan Scarboro (3), Jenna Kelly (3) and Megan Morrison (2).
PLAYING THE FIELD: Carolina is also stout defensively, ranking second in the conference and 34th nationally in fielding percentage (0.970). Moreover, UNC owns the second-lowest ERA in the ACC (2.07), which also ranks 30th in the nation. The Carolina pitching staff and defense is holding opponents to a .211 batting average, the second-best mark in the conference.
IN THE ZONE: Lori Spingola was just named ACC Pitcher of the Week for the second consecutive week and fourth time in 2012--eighth time in her career--following a 3-0 week. Spingola picked up a 11-0 win at UNC Greensboro April 11 and two more victories at home against conference foe NC State. The Atlanta, Ga., sophomore threw a total of 20.0 innings, surrendering only one earned run and struck out 25, going the distance in all three contests. In the series finale against NC State on Sunday, April 15, she pitched all ten innings as the Tar heels picked up a 3-2 walk-off victory. The sophomore pitcher improved to 23-8 with a 1.87 ERA to go along with a conference-leading 235 strikeouts. Spingola is tied for third in the country in total victories (23), is seventh in the nation in strikeouts with 235, is second nationally with 12 shutouts and is 18th in strikeouts per seven innings (9.0).
CAREER DAY: Kelli Wheeler hit a home run--the 35th of her career--over the fence in center field in the bottom of the fifth inning against Hampton University April 19, breaking 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). The senior outfielder also owns the highest career slugging percentage (.617), the third-best on-base percentage (.436) and the sixth-highest career batting average in school history (.327),
BREAKING OUT: Amy Nece is having a breakout sophomore campaign for Carolina. The centerfielder from Redlands, Calif., leads the Tar Heels and the league with a .380 batting average. Nece is also second on the team in multiple-hit games (9) and is second in on-base percentage (.415) and is ranked sixth in the ACC in sacrifice hits with seven.
