University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Hits The Road For Spring Break
March 11, 2013 | Softball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - After opening ACC play 3-0 this weekend against Boston College, the No. 25 Tar Heels are ready to hit the road to play at Kentucky on Tuesday and then five games at the Louisville Classic Friday through Sunday.
The Tar Heels are 18-6 on the year, already beating two top 25 teams (No. 10 LSU and No. 20 Baylor) as they re-entered national rankings last week in the No. 25 spot after a few weeks just outside of the top 25.
Live stats will be available for all games this week. Follow Carolina softball on GoHeels.com and on Twitter (@UNCSoftball) for more updates throughout the week. Tuesday's contest with Kentucky will be live streamed with a subscription.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
Kentucky: The Wildcats are ranked No. 17 with an 18-4 (2-1) mark. UNC is 1-1 with UK all-time, winning their last meeting 10-2 in 2005. Kentucky is led by Lauren Cumbess, batting .368 with 18 RBIs, and Griffen Joiner, .316 with 18 RBIs as well. Kara Dill leads the team with 27 hits, while Cumbess has 25.
Louisville Classic
Wisconsin: This is Carolina's first meeting with the Badgers, who are 18-3 coming into the tournament. Mary Massei leads Wisconsin with a .453 batting average, tallying 34 hits so far this season with 22 RBIs and 23 runs scored. Cassandra Darrah is 11-1 with a 1.26 ERA and 60 strikeouts.
Louisville: Ranked No. 13, Louisville is 20-3 with an undefeated 8-0 record at home. Katie Keller is batting .500 with 26 RBIs on 37 hits, while Alicja Wolny has 19 RBIs and 26 hits with a .426 average. Caralissa leads the Cardinals in the circle with a 12-2 mark (2.13 ERA) and 85 strikeouts. UNC is 1-3 against Louisville, losing 1-0 in their last meeting in 2009.
Ball State: Jennifer Gilbert leads Ball State (11-9) with a .452 average and 24 RBIs with 28 hits. Amanda Carpenter (.364) has 14 RBIs and 24 hits. Carolina is 4-1 against Ball State, winning an 8-0 contest in 2004.
Eastern Michigan: EMU is 8-8 on the season. Kati Blaharski is batting .360, with 10 scores and 18 hits. Amanda Stanton (.302) has 12 RBIs and 13 hits. UNC is 7-8-1 against Eastern Michigan, winning 5-3 in 1999.
Iowa: At 17-6 this year, Iowa was receving votes in last week's USA Today/NFCA poll. Kayla Massey (.391) has 25 hits and 19 RBIs, while Megan Blank has 31 RBIs while batting .386. Massey has a .268 ERA with 39 strikeouts, and Chelsea Lyon has a 2.10 ERA with 37 strikeouts.
