Softball Heads To Sunshine State For Joan Joyce Classic

Friday, February 24

Boca Raton, Fla.

11:30 A.M.

North Carolina

Wisconsin

Abby Settlemyre
UNC Softball v Elon
Anderson Softball Stadium
Chapel Hill, NC
Wedneaday, February 15, 2023

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

February 23, 2023 | Softball

FloSoftball ($)CUSA.tv ($)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – For the second time this season, the Carolina softball team is hitting the road. This weekend, the Tar Heels are traveling to the Sunshine State to compete in the Joan Joyce Classic hosted by FAU in Boca Raton, Fla.

Over the three-day tournament, from Feb. 24-26, Carolina will face Villanova once and Wisconsin and Florida Atlantic twice. Non-FAU games will be streamed on FloSoftball, while games that include the Owls will be available on CUSA.tv.

Carolina's Weekend Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 24 – vs. Wisconsin (11:30 a.m.), vs. Villanova (4:30 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 25 – vs. Wisconsin (9 a.m.), vs. FAU (11:30 a.m.)
Sunday, Feb. 26 – vs. FAU (9 a.m.)

For the full tournament schedule, click here.

Honoring A Legend
"The Florida Atlantic University softball team will remember and honor a legend this weekend. The Owls are hosting the Joan Joyce Classic in honor of the late Joyce, who was Florida Atlantic's head coach for 28 years and was an icon, not only at FAU, but in the sporting world.

Joyce, who passed away at the age of 82 last March, is a member of 21 Halls of Fame and is one of the most iconic and influential figures in sports history. Joyce built the FAU softball program from the ground up and led the Owls to 1,002 wins, becoming only the 27th coach in NCAA Division I history to win 1,000 games."

SERIES BREAKDOWN
vs. Wisconsin (2-6)
Series: Wisconsin leads 4-3
Last Time: Wisconsin won 8-3 in Chapel Hill on Feb. 16, 2020
Neutral Site: Wisconsin leads 2-1 in neutral site games against Carolina
Trend: The Badgers have won two of the last three dating back to 2018

vs. FAU (5-5)
Series: The series is tied 7-7
Last Time: Carolina won 2-1 in Leesburg, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2022
In Boca: Carolina is 1-3 against FAU in Boca Raton
Trend: The Tar Heels have won five straight

vs. Villanova (4-6)
Series: The Tar Heels and Wildcats met for the first time on March 2, 2022, in Chapel Hill
Last Time: Carolina earned a 7-3 victory over Villanova in last year's meeting

Notables:

Although Wisconsin and North Carolina didn't play against one another, both teams opened their seasons at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Mexico
As a team, the Tar Heels are batting .309, the fourth-best in the ACC. Carolina also ranks fourth in fielding (.976)
Destiny Middleton (.419), Kiersten Licea (.412) and Skyler Brooks (.400) rank in the top-20 in the conference in hitting
Wisconsin went 2-2 in last weekend's ACC/B1G 10 Challenge taking and dropping a game against both Georgia Tech and Loiusville
The last time the Tar Heels played the Owls in Boca Raton was March 18, 2006. Carolina won the game 2-1
Kenna Raye Dark has only had three at-bats this season and has hit a double in two of three them