1 2Spring Sports' '9TThe Daily tar HeelWedniesday, February 27,' 1 9$1
Papa predicts a Bright failure
Lauby to aid Brower, Davis on mound; freshmen provide new look for softball
By Warren Hynes
Assistant Sports Editor
Papa's got a brand new ballclub.
Whi le nine experienced players return
to this year's UNC softball team, the
addition of six freshmen gives coach
Donna Papa's group a whole different
look.
The softball squad, 38-18 last year,
enters the 1991 season ranked sixth in
the South Region. Papa, starting her
sixth season, said she felt more com
fortable with this club than any she's
had.
"This is the first year that I really felt
I could put everybody out on the field,"
she said.
The new-look Tar Heels hope to have
bolstered an already strongpitching staff
and revved up a lineup that is built for
speed.
On the mound, pitchers Tracy Brower
and Yvette Davis combined for a spec
tacular 36-18 record and a 1.68 earned
run average last year. B ut the two pi tched
every inning of every game for the Tar
Heels (UNC won two games by forfeit).
It was obvious that North Carolina
needed some depth on the mound.
Enter the Los Angeles Times high
school softball player of the year. Paige
Lauby, a freshman right-hander from El
Toro, Calif., can bring that vital depth to
the UNC rotation.
"Last year it was Tracy and Yvette,
Tracy and Yvette," Papa said. "But now
we have the luxury of having three
pitchers that are going to see a lot of
game time, and I think our pitchers
arms are going to be fresher for longer."
Davis, a sophomore right-hander
from Aurora, Colo., comes off a stellar
freshman campaign during which she
went 19-8 with a 1.25 ERA.
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Sonya Bright
"Yvette had a great year last year as
a freshman," Papa said. "I look to her to
be even better this year because she's
got that one year behind her."
Brower, a senior right-hander from
Newton, Pa., is on the verge of bursting
through the UNC record books this
season. The two-year co-captain is three
wins away from becoming North
Carolina's all-time victory leader. She
has a career record of 54-29 and a 1 .37
ERA:
Last year, Brower was 17-10 with a
1.97 ERA and 78 strikeouts. As im
pressive as those numbers are, they fell
short of her sophomore season stats of
23-8, 1.26 ERA and 125 Ks. There was
a reason for this: Brower had partially
torn ligaments in her right shoulder
which were not discovered until after
the season. Papa said she hoped her
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Softball
Head Coach: Donna Papa (Connecticut
1978)
Career Record: 198-97-1
Record at School: 1 69-82-1 (sixth year)
Assistant Coaches: Robin Payne-Wills,
Tracey Narwid
1990 Record: 38-18
Starters ReturningLost: 92
Top Returnees: Theresa Buscemi Or.),
Tracy Brower (Sr.) Vicki Parrott (Sr.),
Sonya Bright (So.), Michelle Rupp (Jr-);
Lisa McGloin (Jr.), Julie O'Shields Or.),
Yvette Davis (So.)
Top Newcomers: Paige Lauby (El Toro,
Calif.), Vicki Huff (St. James, N.Y.), Beverly
Smith (Houston), Amy Cole (Rural Hall)
Facility: Finley Field
two-year captain would return at full
strength this year.
"Hopefully she'll be able to go with
it and run this year," Papa said. "She's
been in so many situations for us, and
that experience, you just can't teach
that."
On offense, the Tar Heels will sport a
lineup that is fleet of foot. Juniors
Theresa Buscemi (14 stolen bases last
year) and Julie O'Shields (10), sopho
more Sonya Bright (8) and freshmen
Amy Cole and Vicki Huff lead the UNC
speed squad.
"We're going to be able to be a little
more aggressive on the bases," Papa
said. "We've got speed. We've got the
people that can execute the running
slaps and get on base. We've got some
people that can hit the ball. I think that's
kind of a good mix."
The UNC coach can only hope that
the mix is enough to make up for the loss
of one of the school's greatest players.
Tracey Narwid graduated in 1990 after
four tremendous years at UNC. The
three-time All-South Region
centerfielder holds UNC career records
in hits, home runs, runs batted in, runs
scored, slugging percentage and stolen
bases to name just a few.
"She's left a big void, and now we're
looking to fill that void," Papa said.
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Sophomore Yvette Davis led the Tar Heels with 19 victories and a 1.25 ERA last year
"You don't find a lot of players like that
all packed in one."
The UNC outfield, while long in po
tential, is short in experience. Only
Buscemi has extensive collegiate play
ing time.
Buscemi, a Ronkonkoma, N.Y. na
tive, has started 1 06 consecutive games,
dating back to the first game of her
freshman year. She hit .319 last year,
more than 100 percentage points higher
than the previous season. Because of
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her increased production, Buscemi has
taken over the lineup's third slot, vacated
by Narwid.
Buscemi and Cole both will start, but
Papa hasn't decided yet who will play
center field and who will play right
field.
In left field, either Bright or freshman
Beverly Smith will get the nod. Papa
said she hoped to keep both in the lineup
by using one as a designated hitter.
Bright, a Durham native, batted .257
with a .353 on-base percentage last year
as UNC's leadoff batter. She will use
her specialty, the running slap bunt, to
try to ignite UNC rallies.
North Carolina's infield should be
well-rounded. At first base, sophomore
Jeannie Carrow and Huff will probably
split the duties at first base. Carrow
started 49 games last year at first, bat
ting .173. She was second on the squad
in fielding percentage. Huff, a St. James,
N.Y., native, has impressed her coach
with the effort she's given in practice.
Senior co-captain Vicki Parrott an
chors the infield at second base. She
begins her third season as UNC's sec
ond sacker, sporting a .945 fielding per
centage. Despite a .177 career batting
average, Parrott is a team catalyst, Papa
said.
"One thing about Vicki is she's not
the fastest person on the team, she's not
the slowest person on the team by any
means but she makes things hap
pen," Papa said.
O'Shields starts her second straight
season at shortstop. The Wilmington
native hit .257 last year.
Junior Michelle Rupp returns to third
base for her second full season at the hot
See SOFTBALL, page 14