Sanaa Thompson matches UNC softball freshman record
This year is nothing short of amazing for the UNC softball team.
For the first time since 2019, North Carolina has reached the 30-win threshold. What makes this season even more impressive – this is the Tar Heels’ first year playing under new head coach Megan Smith Lyon, a former player, who took over for longtime leader Donna J. Papa in the offseason (retired).
UNC’s offense is amongst the best in college softball, with three hitters mashing at least .400. The leader of that pack? Alex Coleman, who’s 13th in the country with a .441 batting average.
Another one of those three Tar Heels hitting .400 is star freshman Sanaa Thompson (.406), whose 52 regular-season hits were the most by a freshman since 2015.
Thompson will look to continue her scorching season in the ACC Softball Championships, which kick off on Wednesday, May 8 at Duke Softball Stadium. North Carolina faces the challenge of going through a loaded ACC for its first tournament championship since 2001, with four teams ranked in D1Softball.com’s Top 25.
UNC’s pitching staff is solid, with its seven hurlers compiling a 3.66 earned run average and 203 strikeouts, but it’ll be the Tar Heel offense that carries it deep into the postseason.
North Carolina is hitting .349 as a team, fifth nationally and tops in the ACC, so let’s see if the bats can stay hot.
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