April 2, 2004

The North Carolina softball team starts its ACC season off with a trip to Charlottesville, Va. on Saturday to face the Virginia Cavaliers. UNC is 30-14 this season and have won 14 of their last 15 games while UVa is 23-18 and have won 10 of their past 13 contests. The doubleheader kicks off at noon on Saturday with the second game to start approximately 20 minutes after the finish of game one.

UNC and Virginia have faced three common opponents this season; Western Kentucky, James Madison and Penn State. Against Western Kentucky, Carolina won 5-1, while the Cavaliers fell 5-2 to the Hilltoppers. The Tar Heels defeated James Madison 4-0 and UVa beat JMU 3-2. Penn State defeated UNC 1-0 and split with Virginia.

UNC heads into ACC play with some sizzling bats in their lineup. The Tar Heels' offense is led by seniors Emily Price and Dionne Streete. Price is second in the ACC in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage as she is hitting .403 with eight home runs and a .667 slugging percentage. She also has 31 RBI's and 27 runs this year. Streete leads the conference in doubles with 16 and for the year is hitting .352 with 31 runs and 22 RBI's.

"I think we have found a lineup that has clicked for us offensively and I think we have settled down as a team, they know their roles more," said UNC head coach Donna J. Papa.

In Carolina's last 15 games, where they have gone 14-1, several other Tar Heels have stepped up at the plate with impressive numbers. Junior Jessica Young is hitting .442 with three home runs and 13 RBI's and senior Natashalyn Snipes is hitting .360 with 11 runs and five stolen bases in the last 15 games. Sophomore Julia Bove is hitting .538 with 10 runs scored and freshman Joslin Higgins is hitting .378 with a home run and seven RBI's during the streak as well.

The Tar Heel pitching is led by sophomores Crystal Cox and Alison Yin. Cox is second in the ACC in shutouts (9) and strikeouts (193). She brings to the mound a 1.73 ERA and a 16-8 record. Yin has a 1.74 ERA and is 11-6 on the season with three shutouts.

"I think we have been able to put together some good pitching performances with some solid defense and solid hitting," said Papa. Certainly winning 14 of our last 15 games gives us confidence getting ready to head into ACC play."

Virginia is led by Heather Field, as she leads the ACC in walks with 36 on the season and is second in the ACC in runs scored with 34 and in stolen bases with 12. She has also hit six home runs and 25 RBI's this season. Other strong contributors on offense for the Cavaliers are Hannah Owings and Sara Larquier. Owings hits .351 on the season and has a .419 slugging percentage while Larquier has 26 RBI's and ten doubles.

"I think they have some hitters that we know about, and we will be careful when we pitch to them," said Papa. "It is at Virginia, so we need to make sure we score early and put pressure on them. We need to keep control of our emotions and our composure. If we just execute and do the little things well, then I think things will take care of themselves. We have to go in their with an attitude and play our type of game."

The Tar Heels hope to get off to a strong start in conference play at Virginia. The ACC features two ranked teams in Georgia Tech and Florida State. FSU is ranked fourth in the country and the Tar Heels will have to go to Tallahassee to play the Seminoles.

"The ACC is going to be tough," said Papa. "Everybody wants to win the regular season and position themselves well for the end of the season and the tournament to have a high seed. From here on out it really gets tougher game-by-game. I feel like we have played really good competition up to this point. We have lost to a couple of ranked teams that could have made a little m ore of a difference for us, but I am really pleased with how we have developed, especially the last 15 games."

"Winning helps you with your confidence level and we have done a lot of good things in that span. We have had some great hitting performances, Emily Price, but a lot of people have stepped up, even people that hadn't been playing that much that are now out on the field and doing good things, Julia Bove for example. I am very encouraged by that heading into our ACC play."

Coach Papa feels like even though the ACC looks to be extremely strong this season, the team just needs to worry about their progression on the field.

"I think for us every year we want to be in apposition where we will be in the ACC Championship game," said Papa. "Certainly this year, Florida State is having a phenomenal year, being ranked fourth in the country. Georgia Tech is doing really well. Those are the two biggest teams that we have to get by, but the ACC is solid all the way through. Virginia and Maryland are having good years and N.C. State is having a great season for a first-year team. So there is no game that you can breathe easy. I don't think we are going to treat these games any differently, certainly there will be a lot of pride on the line, but we need to go out and do the things that will put us in a position to win. I don't think it matters who your opponent is, it is what you do to get things done, like putting bunts down and our hitters being patient at the plate."