Devils in Detail
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ASU Softball: Scouting Devils’ Competition in Oxford Regional

By Sam Ficarro

May 10, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; SEC Softball tournament at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, TN. Mandatory Credit: Wade Payne-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; SEC Softball tournament at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, TN. Mandatory Credit: Wade Payne-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels mascot Rameses stands for the national anthem during the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Georgia Dome. Georgia won 33-24. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels mascot Rameses stands for the national anthem during the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Georgia Dome. Georgia won 33-24. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

North Carolina Tar Heels

North Carolina is making their third straight appearance into NCAA Tournament and their 14th appearance overall.

The Tar Heels finished the season 38-19 and tied for third place in the ACC with a 14-9 conference record.

North Carolina had a deep run in the ACC Tournament reaching the Championship Game losing to Florida State 4-3, who completed a perfect ACC season earning No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In the championship game, North Carolina trailed 4-0 heading into the seventh inning and cut the deficit to one run after second baseman Katelyn Shifflett hit a two-out 3-run home run.

It was a tough defeat to swallow for UNC as they were the host school for the ACC Tournament this season.

Their performance will motivate the Tar Heels as three players were named to the All-Tournament team and battling with Florida State to the very last out.

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North Carolina tested themselves this season facing 10 NCAA Tournament teams including four games against No. 4 Florida State and one game versus No. 8 Tennessee.

UNC finished 5-12 in games versus Tournament-bound teams with wins coming versus California, Ohio State, South Carolina, Marshall and Notre Dame.

The Tar Heels are a balanced team finishing in the top five in both batting and pitching.

Two of the top five run producers in the ACC are Tar Heels in Kendra Lynch and Brittany Pickett.

Lynch led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 65 RBIs and tied for first with 21 home runs leading North Carolina to finish scoring the second most runs in the conference.

The Tar Heels are also a patient group finishing with the third-most walks in the ACC and third in on-base percentage.

Once UNC does get on base, they can swipe bases often and in abundance with 99 stolen bases, good for second in the conference, four behind Florida State.

Outfielder Leah Murray leads the team with 35 stolen bases in 43 attempts this season.

Switching to the pitching, North Carolina finished fifth in the conference with a team ERA of 3.45 and are led by their ace Pickett.

Pickett went 21-8 with a 2.68 ERA in 47 appearances this season, including starting in 27 games throwing 17 complete games.

The Tar Heels ace finished tied for fourth in the ACC with 21 wins, third in innings pitched (207 IP) and fifth in strikeouts (141).

In total, North Carolina has thrown the most innings this season and have used five pitchers this season with Lynch as UNC’s No. 2 pitcher.

Lynch has had an up-and-down season going 11-4 in 24 appearances and 18 starts this season sporting a 5.17 ERA and a .313 opponents batting average.

Much to the delight of Arizona State, North Carolina finished eighth in the ACC allowing 47 home runs this season with only Georgia Tech and Notre Dame allowing more (52).

Arizona State will look to take advantage of the long ball Friday versus the Tar Heels after hitting 58 home runs this season.

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