University of North Carolina Athletics
Softball Heads To Notre Dame For Weekend Series
April 6, 2017 | Softball
| Notre Dame (19-14, 6-6 ACC) |
| Game 1: April 8 | 1 PM | Watch | Stats |
| Game 2: April 8 | 3 PM | Watch | Stats |
| Game 3: April 9 | Noon | Watch | Stats |
| Where: Melissa Cook Stadium |
| Admission: Adults: $5, Youth: $3 | Buy |
| Series: UNC trails, 5-13; Streak: Won 1 |
South Bend, Ind. - North Carolina (30-9, 9-3 ACC) begins the second half of the ACC season this weekend with a trip to South Bend, Indiana, for a three-game series at Notre Dame (19-14, 6-6 ACC). North Carolina has won its first four ACC series, including a sweep of then-No. 21 Pittsburgh. Notre Dame dropped 2-of-3 to Georgia Tech and was swept by No. 1 Florida State before winning series against Virginia Tech (sweep) and, most recently, Louisville.
Against the Irish
Notre Dame has had the upper hand over the years, winning 13 of 18 all-time matchups. The Fighting Irish won eight straight meetings from 1999 to 2014, but Carolina has done well over the past two years, winning three of the last five matchups.
UNC and then-No. 24 Notre Dame split a 2015 doubleheader in Carolina's last trip to South Bend, then the Heels took 2-of-3 at home against then-No. 18 UND last April.
NCAA Leaders
Carolina is among the best in the nation statistically, ranking in the top 25 as a team in five statistical averages. UNC ranks 14th in slugging percentage (.513), 21st in batting average (.324), 12th in home runs per game (1.10) ninth in stolen bases per game (2.18) and 23rd in doubles per game (1.54). Additionally, the Heels are seventh in the NCAA in total home runs (43) and doubles (60), eighth in stolen bases (85) and 12th in double plays (18).
Individually, Kendra Lynch ranks in the top three in the nation in four statistical categories. She is one of 13 pitchers in the nation to have gone at least 70 innings and only hit a single batter, while ranking second in the nation in total bases (106) and RBIs (51) and third in home runs (15). The senior slugger is 14th in the NCAA in slugging percentage (.869) and her 46 career home runs rank second all time at UNC and 11th among active players nationally.
Berlynne Delamora's patience at the plate has paid off, ranking seventh in the nation with 35 walks, while Brittany Pickett is second in the NCAA with five saves this season—a UNC record. Leah Murray ranks sixth in the nation with 30 stolen bases, 12th with 52 hits, and is the 13th-most-difficult batter to strike out, with just three Ks over 140 at-bats.
Saving The Day
North Carolina's pitching staff has had each other's backs all season, teaming up in nearly every game. A single pitcher has gone the distance in just nine games this season, with Kendra Lynch and Brittany Pickett the only individuals to throw a complete game so far.
UNC has recorded six shutout victories this season and Brittany Pickett has pitched in all six of them. The rookie recorded Carolina's first complete-game shutout on Feb. 18, a 5-0 decision over Purdue. Pickett started UNC's next two shutouts, going six innings at ECU before Hannah Nommensen came in for the seventh and the first five innings against Chattanooga followed by perfect sixth and seventh innings by Nommensen and Kellyn Daly. Sydney Matzko went the first four innings at Campbell, before Pickett came in to secure the final three. Pickett tossed her second career complete-game shutout on March 24, holding NC State to five hits in the series opener. All five Tar Heel pitchers combined for the shutout of UNCG on March 29, with Pickett going the first two innings and Lynch earning the win as the closer.
The continued use of relief has helped keep the staff fresh through the grind of the NCAA softball season. Additionally, it has allowed for an increase in save opportunities. Pickett is second in the ACC with 31 appearances but has made just 13 starts (five of which turned into shutouts). 11 of Nommensen's 14 appearances came off the bench, while Matzko and Daly have combined for 12 relief appearances.
Pickett's speed has helped her be extremely effective in relief, as the Tar Heel rookie broke UNC's record on March 14 with her fifth save of the season and ranks second in the NCAA.Matzko has come in for two saves and Nommensen picked up the save against UMass Lowell on Feb. 11. Lynch entered the UNCG game in a save situation, pitching the final two innings with a 2-0 lead to protect, but was awarded the win as the most-effective relief pitcher after Pickett only pitched two innings as the starter and thus was ineligible for the save.
UNC now has eight saves as a team, which ties the program record set in 2005. Three different Tar Heels posted at least one save for the fourth time in program history, a feat matched in 2006, 2005 and 2000.
Walk This Way
Third baseman Berlynne Delamora, who ranked fifth all time in UNC history last season in on-base percentage, proved to be the hardest out at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, reaching base safely in 12 consecutive plate appearances from Feb 18-22. The streak, which featured 10 walks and two singles, was the sixth-longest in NCAA history.
Delamora walked in all seven of her plate appearances on Saturday, Feb. 18, against Purdue and Ohio State, a streak bested by just eight players in NCAA history.
She then walked in six consecutive trips to the plate from March 8-10, which ties the 14th-longest streak in softball history.
Through the first 39 games of the season, Delamora has a total of 35 walks, which leads the ACC and ranks seventh in the nation. Her mark of 0.90 walks per game ranks 14th in the NCAA and is well above the UNC record of 0.79 set by teammate Taylor Wike in 2015. The third baseman is on pace to shatter UNC's single-season total walks record, set last season by Kristen Brown at 43.
Delamora has reached base in 36 of 39 games this season, including a streak of 29 straight from Feb. 18-March 31. It is the second-longest reached base streak for Carolina since at least 2005.
Kristen Brown holds the record (since 2005), putting together a 54-game streak from the end of 2015 through the majority of 2016. She reached base safely in all-but-one game as a senior, including the first 51 games of the year.
Amber Parrish reached base successfully in the final 26 games of her career in 2015.
Taylor Wike is the only other player to have reached base in more than 20-straight games since 2005. The junior has done so in each of her first three seasons, reaching in 23-straight as a freshman (2015), 22-in-a-row as a sophomore, and saw her personal-best 25-game streak come to an end against UNCG on March 29, 2017.
Leah Murray enters the weekend with an active 19-game reached base streak.
Back in the Rankings
UNC received votes in both the NFCA and ESPN.com preseason polls, but a rough opening weekend dropped the Tar Heels out of the limelight. However, a double-digit winning streak in late February-early March sent UNC back into the national conversation, as the Tar Heels returned to the polls on March 7, receiving votes in both major polls.
A perfect weekend at the Holy City Showdown helped the Heels further state their case, as UNC entered the top 25 for the first time in the new DISoftballNews poll on March 13 at No. 24. Carolina broke into the top 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll on March 21, coming in at No. 25, while moving up to No. 20 in the DISoftballNews poll.
After going 2-2, UNC narrowly fell out of the top 25 of the ESPN.com poll on March 28 and remains just outside the top 25 in the NFCA Coaches Poll.
The No. 25 ranking on March 21 marked first time since April 16, 2013, that UNC has been ranked in the top 25 by ESPN.com. The Heels appeared the ESPN.com poll six times and the NFCA poll five times in 2013.
