As North Carolina huddled as a team in right field following its 4-3 loss to Florida State in the ACC Tournament championship game on Saturday at Anderson Stadium, several players turned their heads.
They were distracted by the cheers and screams of the Seminoles, who were celebrating their fourth consecutive league title.
Regardless of the fact that this was a game many expected FSU to win — the Seminoles remain unbeaten against ACC foes — there’s always going to be that sting that comes with a loss. Brittany Pickett, who was vital to the Tar Heels’ run to the title game, remained upset about making the final out of the contest just one at-bat after Katelyn Shifflett gave UNC life with her three-run home run.
But Pickett’s performance was one of the several bright spots over the past few days that continues to give the Tar Heels confidence going forward.
The NCAA Tournament begins next week, and the Tar Heels, who entered the ACC Tournament No. 34 in the RPI rankings, plan to be included in the field of 64 — barring a surprise.
“I know we’re going to continue to play,” head coach Donna Papa said. “I’m pretty confident we should be going to postseason, even though we didn’t win the automatic (bid). I think with our performance here and then with our RPI, we should be considered or should be going to postseason.”
Assuming the Tar Heels make the NCAA Tournament, they’ll be playing with a renewed confidence in themselves.
After losing seven of their final eight regular season games, Papa’s players went nearly two weeks without playing a game and had exams to focus on. The idle period allowed for more individual instruction and player development time than the season usually allows for.
As it turned out, that was a good thing. UNC’s offense looked recharged; North Carolina scored 15 runs over the course of its first two ACC Tournament games against Syracuse and N.C. State.