UNC Softball Weekly Release

April 20, 2004

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This Week's Action: The UNC women's softball team (6-23 overall) will close the home portion of its schedule this Wednesday at 2 p.m. against Montana State-Billings. The Yellowjackets come into the doubleheader with a record of 19-27. The two teams will meet again on May 1-2 in Billings, Mont., as both squads will close out their season at that time.

Back-to-Back: For the first time all season the Bears put together back-to-back wins when UNC scored two victories over Utah Valley State on Saturday. The Bears took game one, 6-3, and then came back to take game two, 8-7.

Close But No Cigar: Although the Bears have a posted a sub .500 record in 2004, it could have been much better were it for a couple of runs here and there. UNC has a record of 4-12 in games decided by two runs or less.

Boyer Ignites: Senior transfer Brooke Boyer swung a hot bat last week in the Bears' six games as she hit 11-for-20 (.550) and scored three runs. Boyer raised her season average to .316 and ranks third on the team in RBI with 16. Boyer has been perfect in left field as she has had 21 defensive chances and has committed no errors with three assists.

Freshman Steps Up: Freshman 3B Ashley Martinosky put together a solid week at the plate and upped her average to .256 on the season. Martinosky went 7-of-16 (.436) at the plate and recorded a pair of doubles as UNC picked up a pair of wins last week.

Platten Gives 'Extra' Effort: Junior Whitney Platten is off to a good start batting .370 in her first season with the Bears. Platten is tied with teammate Erin Peterson for the team lead in total hits with 34. Of Platten's 34 hits, 15 have gone for extra bases. Platten has nine doubles and six home runs in 27 games played.

Bears Take 2nd: The Bears placed second overall at the Mean Green/Wells Fargo Classic by winning two contests. The Bears defeated Harvard and New Mexico in the tournament and went 2-3 in the three-day event. UNC tied with Harvard for second place but won the tiebreaker based on a head-to-head matchup.

Four Members of All-Tourney Team: The UNC Bears had four players earn All-Tournament honors at the Mean Green/Wells Fargo Classic in Denton, Texas. Junior Whitney Platten, junior Nicole Martinez, freshman Casey Hogue and senior Erin Peterson all earned all-tourney team honors.

Bears Nab National Honors: Junior Whitney Platten and senior Erin Peterson have each been named NCAA Division I-II Independent Players of the Week the last two weeks. Platten earned the latest honor for her school-record breaking effort against Regis. Platten tallied five hits in five at-bats in a 7-6 nine-inning loss to the Rangers. Peterson earned her national honors the week before as she dismantled the competition at the North Texas Tournament in Denton, Texas.

Bears Return to Division I Status: This season marks the return of Division I softball for the Bears. On May 10, 2002 the UNC Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve a move for the UNC intercollegiate athletics program to NCAA Division I. The 2002-03 sports year marked the last season for the Bears in the North Central Conference and the NCAA Division II level. This season the Bears begin a four-year "reclassification" period before officially becoming a Division I school in 2007. Over the next four years, UNC will be unable to compete in NCAA postseason competition. UNC will be competing as an independent during the 2003-04 school year and will hopefully find conference affiliation before the end of the reclassification period.

Head Coach: Linda Witt is in her fourth season as the head coach of the UNC softball squad. During Witt's tenure as the Bears' leader she has compiled a career record of 59-58 overall entering the 2004 season. Witt will be charged with taking the Bears back to Division I softball, a level she is very familiar with at UNC. "We are going back to Division I and it's exciting because I was a part of the tradition as a player and now I have the opportunity to do it as a coach," Witt said. Witt was named the Co-Coach of the Year in 2002 after leading the Bears to a 28-18 overall mark and an 11-5 record in league action. Witt has compiled an overall mark of 41-36 in two full seasons as the Bears' head coach. Witt played for the Bears' during her college days and led the squad to the NCAA championship game in 1978 before falling to UCLA, 2-0, in the title contest. A 1978 graduate of UNC, Linda Witt spent 20 years as a teacher and coach at University High School (UNC Laboratory School) in Greeley.