No. 11 Virginia Tech (17-4, 3-0 ACC) hits the road to Chapel Hill on Friday to face North Carolina (8-13, 3-0). Though the Hokies opened conference play a week earlier vs. NC State, it’s the first ACC series for the Tar Heels. They’ll be seeking payback, too, after the Hokies swept them last season in Blacksburg (10-0, 8-5, 9-1).
Due to inclement weather expected on Sunday, the weekend schedule was adjusted. Here are the revised schedule and broadcast designations:
Friday, March 10, 4 p.m. ET, ACCNX
Sat., March 11, 2:30 p.m. ET, ACCNX
Sat., March 11, 6 p.m. ET, ACCN
The Tar Heels, who were picked to finish 11th in the ACC, started the season 5-2. However, they’ve lost 11 of their 14 games since. They hosted the Carolina Classic last weekend where they split with Purdue (4-3, 4-0) but were swept by JMU (7-1, 6-5).
Offensively, North Carolina has struggled at times. It ranks last in the ACC in runs per game (3.5), 10th in home runs per game (0.52) and ninth in batting average (.278).
Nevertheless, the top of the UNC order has five solid hitters: senior Bri Stubbs (.400), senior Kiersten Licea (.348, 4 HRs), junior Skyler Brooks (.333), senior Destiny Middleton (.317) and senior Abby Settlemyre (.313, 3 HRs). Stubbs is a four-year starter (127 starts) with a career batting average of .349 while Brooks is a three-year starter (102 starts) with a .311 career average.
In the circle, UNC is led by sophomore Lilli Backes (3-7. 2.75 ERA), who has struck out 36 batters in 56 innings. Backes led the Tar Heels in innings last season (114) and has 10 of UNC’s 21 starts this year.
The second UNC starter will either be Tennessee transfer Bailey McCachren (3-2, 2.51 ERA, 12 Ks in 22 innings) or freshman Kenna Raye Dark (2-2, 4.16 ERA, 16 Ks in 32 innings).
North Carolina head coach Donna Papa is in her 38th season at UNC and holds a 1350-805 (.626) record. She has taken the Tar Heels to 14 NCAA tournaments and currently has the second-most career wins of any active coach in the NCAA behind Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso.
Virginia Tech arrives in Chapel Hill on an offensive tear, having scored 55 runs and homered 18 times in the last week (six games). The Hokies currently lead the country in home runs (45) and home runs per game (2.14).
Sophomore Emma Lemley (10-1, 1.80 ERA) is almost as hot as her offense. In her past 25 innings, she allowed just nine hits and two runs while striking out 43 batters. She leads the ACC in strikeouts with 103 in 66 innings. On top of that, she was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week for the second straight week on March 7 for the fifth time in her career.
Freshman Lyndsay Grein (5-1, 3.62 ERA) continues to grow and gain experience in the circle. She has 47 strikeouts in 48 innings and has shown a toughness that should serve her well.
The Hokies traveled to Chapel Hill from Gardner-Webb and practiced in Chapel Hill on Thursday. Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour liked what he saw ahead of the Tar Heels.
“We had a good day of practice today, the ladies are ready to go [on Friday],” he told Tech Sideline. “As we look at UNC, our preparation won’t change. We need to play clean softball, work ahead and control the strike zone offensively. If we can do those things, we’ll be ok.”
Here’s the tale of the tape:
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