University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Head Out For ACC Showdown With No. 24 Notre Dame
April 24, 2015 | Softball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In a battle for ACC Tournament seeding, the Tar Heels will travel to South Bend, Ind. for their final ACC series of the regular season against No. 24 Notre Dame.
North Carolina (34-12, 15-4) leads ND (38-11, 16-5) in the conference standings by just a few percentage points, with this series likely determining who will be the second seed in the ACC Tournament in two weeks in Blacksburg.
UNC will be looking to rebound after falling victim on the road to a seventh inning rally by East Carolina, losing Wednesday evenings contest 4-3.
The Tar Heels have seven hitters that are batting .300 or better with two batting above .400 in Aquilla Mateen and Taylor Wike. Kristen Brown, Carolina's new career home runs leader, has belted an ACC leading 21 long balls to go along with 64 RBIs. As a team, UNC has hit 82 dingers in Head Coach Donna J. Papa's 30th season, a program record.
Scouting the Fighting Irish
The Fighting Irish are one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 24 straight games, the second-longest active win streak in Division I and have yet to lose a game at home all season.
Seven Notre Dame batters are hitting .300 or better, with Karley Wester leading the way at .444 and a team-best 75 hits. Rachel Nasland is the most used pitcher on staff, going 16-6 in 29 appearances. She boasts a staff-best 2.37 ERA to go along with 157 strikeouts.
