The UNC women’s softball team has adopted a new mantra for the 2010 season: attack.
No more playing defense or defending leads — the Tar Heels want to get after the competition and not let up.
“We have bought into a new philosophy this year that we are not going to hold anything back,” junior catcher Brittany McKinney said. “We are all about attacking and being aggressive this year.”
With a good mix of veteran leadership and young talent, the Tar Heels’ attack could be lethal to their competition. Six position players return to a team that finished third in the ACC in 2009 and made the NCAA Tournament for the seventh year in a row.
In the tournament, the Tar Heels lost to Georgia twice in the Chapel Hill regional and finished 47-13 on the season.
Last season, coach Donna Papa’s club looked primed to capture the ACC title for the first time since 2001 but fell short down the stretch.
The Tar Heels enjoyed a 23-game winning streak last season as they headed toward the ACC Tournament atop the ACC leaderboard, but lost three straight games to eventual champion Georgia Tech to round out the regular season and were bounced from the ACC Tournament in the semifinals by Florida State.
This season, the team was ranked No. 19 in the USA Today preseason poll and was picked to finish third in the ACC by league coaches. They do not plan on falling short again. However, much of this season’s success depends on the contributions of incoming players.
Luckily, Papa has one of the top players in the country returning to lead the team.
Danielle Spaulding might be the most well-rounded softball player in the country, as she is both an ace on the mound and a scoring threat at the plate.
The senior from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., led the nation last year with 14.3 strikeouts per seven innings and posted a record of 20-4 in the circle and an earned run average of 1.44. At bat, Spaulding led the team in home runs with 12 and had 45 runs batted in while posting a .311 batting average.
This year Spaulding hopes to build on her success by adding a few new pitches to her already dominant fastball.
“I have picked a couple new pitches that I had not had last year,” Spaulding said. “It will be something that the batters won’t be expecting.”
Last season Spaulding teamed with Lisa Norris to form one of the country’s most dangerous one-two pitching combinations. But Norris graduated, which means Papa is looking for a replacement — or replacements — for Norris.
“Lisa and Danny were a tough combination last year,” Papa said. “But we have Amber Johnson back from redshirt and having Constance Orr back from last year will help out a lot.”
If the Tar Heels can get out of their hitters what they expect from the pitching, then it could be a very productive year. And, as far as expectations go, the team is not limiting itself on where it can go this season.
“On a smaller step we want to win the ACC,” Spaulding said. “But our ultimate goal is getting to the College World Series and winning the College Series.”
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