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Blake signs with North Carolina

By Steve Winzenread | Independent Tribune

Published: November 14, 2008

CONCORD — Ally Blake is a senior, but she won't be playing softball for Central Cabarrus in the spring.
Instead, she will be on the softball team at the University of North Carolina.
"I love the college and they had what I want," she said. "I want to go into the medical field. They have a great medical program."
Blake has been a standout catcher for three years at Central.
"I'm graduating early, in January, and I'm moving up to Chapel Hill and I'm playing for them in the spring," she said.
After attending West Rowan Middle School, Blake spent her high school career at Central.
"It's been great," she said. "I don't think I've not liked any part of it. I love the school, the teachers, the coaches that I've had. They've been great.
"Charlie Blackwelder — he's also been my tournament coach — coached me here at Central. He's like my second dad. Coach Monte Sherrill is like my dad, too. Having them as my coaches made being here an amazing experience."
Central Cabarrus has represented excellence in softball for years, with Vikings teams winning five state titles, four of them this decade.
"I think the coaches make it kind of like, you've got all these people looking at you, you can either make it or you can break it," Blake said. "We definitely practice a lot harder than the game was and I think that helped a lot."
As a freshman, Blake caught Gina Allen. As a sophomore and junior, she caught Morgan Peeler.
"Totally different," she said. "But they're both great. Gina had a lot of movement and Morgan was a lot of speed."
Blake said that North Carolina "has always had a tough, competitive team. The coaches have been there for a long time. It's a great program to go to and I'm excited about choosing them."
For her future, Blake said, "I think I want to go into radiology. ... Actually I'm doing my senior project on radiology. I actually really like it."