April 28, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina's Danielle Spaulding and Georgia Tech's Whitney Haller have been selected as the Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, for the period ending on Sunday, April 27. The award is the Spaulding's second pitcher of the week honor to go along with her player of the week honor from March 25.

A sophomore pitcher for the Tar Heels, Spaulding went 2-0 in four appearances last week, including complete games against Winthrop and No. 18 Virginia Tech. In her first start of the week, against Winthrop, the Fontana, Calif., native allowed just four hits in seven innings, holding the Eagles scoreless in a 2-0 North Carolina win. Then, in game two of a huge series against Virginia Tech over the weekend, Spaulding gave up just one run on one hit to the Hokies and struck out 10 as the Tar Heels prevailed 2-1. For the week, she allowed just five hits in 18.0 innings pitched, leading the 'Heels to a 4-1 overall record, a series victory over Virginia Tech and the ACC's regular season title. She is now 15-2 on the year, and ranks among the league's top five in strikeouts, shutouts, opponent batting-average, and earned run average.