University of North Carolina Athletics
Softball Opens ACC Play At Home Against No. 21 Pittsburgh
March 2, 2017 | Softball
| No. 21 Pittsburgh (12-2, 0-0 ACC) |
| Game 1: March 3 | 6 PM | Watch | Stats |
| Game 2: March 4 | 1 PM | Watch | Stats |
| Game 3: March 5 | 1 PM | Watch | Stats |
| Where: Anderson Stadium |
| Admission: Free |
| About Pitt: Stats | Notes |
| Series: UNC leads 5-3; Streak: Lost 1 |
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina carries a seven-game winning streak into this weekend's Atlantic Coast Conference series, as the Tar Heels open ACC play against No. 21 Pittsburgh. This weekend will mark the debut of the three-day conference series, as the ACC has eliminated scheduled doubleheaders in favor of the Friday-Saturday-Sunday series.
The Panthers are off to a strong start, sitting at 12-2 on the season including a pair of wins over No. 20 Kentucky and a sweep of Nebraska and Northwestern at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Pitt entered the NFCA and ESPN.com polls for the first time in program history after opening weekend and remains ranked at No. 21/24 after taking its first losses of the season last weekend. In their last outing, the Panthers shut out Southeast Louisiana behind a perfect game by ACC Pitcher of the Week Kayla Harris.
Against the Panthers
North Carolina is relatively unfamiliar with Pittsburgh, as the pair have faced just eight times since the Panthers started a team in 1998. UNC owns the all-time series, 5-3, but has lost three of the last four matchups.
Carolina defeated Pitt, 8-0, at home in the first-ever meeting on Feb. 27, 2010. UNC swept a road doubleheader in their first-ever ACC series on March 15, 2014. After winning the first four meetings, UNC has dropped three of the last four, including a 4-0 loss in the 2015 ACC Tournament and losing two of three in Pittsburgh last March. The Panthers travel to Chapel Hill for just the second time and the first ever in ACC play.
Looking For 1,200
North Carolina head coach Donna J. Papa enters Wednesday's contest with an all-time career record of 1,199-660-5 as a head coach, just one win away from reaching the 1,200-win mark. Should the Heels continue their winning ways, Papa would be the 11th softball coach in the history of the NCAA to reach the 1,200-win milestone. The Tar Heel skipper ranks fifth in the nation among active DI coaches in career victories.
Tar Heels Shut Out ECU
North Carolina extended its winning streak to sven straight on Wednesday, picking up the second shutout of the season with a 4-0 victory over East Carolina. In the first true road contest of the season, Brittany Pickett hurled six shutout innings of five-hit ball, while Berlynne Delamora, Kendra Lynch and Katie Bailiff combined for seven hits in the heart of the order including a 3-for-4 outing by Bailiff.
Bailiff, Lynch Win ACC Player of the Week
Tar Heel catcher Katie Bailiff was named ACC Player of the Week on Feb. 21, after a fantastic week at the plate on Feb. 15-19. The sophomore hit .615 (8-13) with four doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs, slugging an impressive 1.385 over four starts. The Trinity, N.C., native came through when it mattered, hitting .875 (7-8) with runners in scoring position and .800 (4-5) with two outs, including a walk-off RBI double on Friday against Ohio State.
Senior pitcher/designated player Kendra Lynch earned the honor the following week on Feb. 28, after hitting .588 with a 1.118 slugging percentage over a 5-0 week at home. Lynch totaled 10 hits, three doubles, two home runs, five runs scored and 11 RBIs over five starts, while going 2-0 with a 1.43 ERA over 14.2 innings in the circle. In her best performance of the week, Lynch went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth while throwing 7.2 shutout innings against Towson in an extra-innings victory.
Statistically Speaking
- UNC ranks in the top 50 in the nation in six statistical categories, including 11th in doubles, 16th in stolen bases and 26th in slugging percentage
- Kendra Lynch ranks fourh in the NCAA in RBIs and total bases and seventh in home runs
- Katie Bailiff ranks eighth in the nation in doubles and 14th in slugging percentage
- Leah Murray is 10th in the NCAA in stolen bases
- Berlynne Delamora is seventh in the country in walks
- Sydney Matzko is sixth in the nation is saves
- UNC leads the ACC in hits, RBIs, doubles, stolen base, sacrifice bunts and pickoffs and is second in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, runs, total bases and double plays turned
