University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Softball Runs Winning Streak To Seven Games In March
March 28, 2001 | Softball
March 28, 2001
AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts softball team has won seven straight games and currently stands at 14-9 and 3-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Minutewomen finished with a 3-3 record at the Speedline Invitational in Tampa, Fla. and a 4-0 mark at the Tallahassee Democrat Tournament in Tallahassee, Fla. UMass then swept conference rival La Salle in a three-game set last weekend by outscoring the Explorers 30-6.
UMass now enters the heart of their conference schedule and will attempt to defend their six consecutive Atlantic-10 titles.
The following are highlights from the month of March:
* The Minutewomen went 3-3 at the annual Speedline Invitational in Tampa, Fla., beating Hofstra (5- 0), Kansas (3-2 in 8 innings) and Wisconsin (3-0), and losing to Florida Atlantic (6-0), Tennessee- Chattanooga (1-0) and Utah (10-0). Freshman Aisha Franke (Philadelphia, Pa.) (.333) and junior Cherra Wheeler (Kingsburg, Calif.) (.294) led UMass. Sophomore pitcher Kaila Holtz (North Vancouver, B.C.) earned two of the Minutewomen's wins, allowing two runs, both unearned, off 13 hits, striking out 11 and walking one in 16.2 innings of work. Junior co-captain Jennifer Hadley (Bristol,Conn.) recorded the other win for UMass.
* The Minutewomen beat Michigan (1-0), Troy State (4-3) and Maryland (6-0) in pool play at the Tallahassee Democrat Tournament to earn a No. 3 seed and a game with UConn in the first round of the tournament. UMass beat the Huskies 3-0 and was set to play Florida Atlantic in the quarterfinals before officials cancelled the rest of the tournament due to rain. Junior co-captain Teri Rooney (Visalia, Calif.) finished the tournament hitting .417 while sophomore Emily Robustelli (Stamford, Conn.) and classmate Brandi Cross (Diamond Bar, Calif.) both hit .333. Wheeler, Rooney and Robustelli were all named to the all-tournament team. Holtz won two more games in Tallahassee while senior Carrie Jeffries (Placentia, Calif.) and Hadley each won one. In the four games, the staff allowed just three runs, two unearned, for a 0.32 ERA.
* Junior second baseman Ashley Bakken (Phoenix, Ariz.) had a tremendous weekend in UMass' three-game sweep of La Salle. Bakken went a combined 6-for-9 (.555) in the three-game set, including a 4-for-4 showing in game one where she was just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. For the year, Bakken boasts a .302 batting average with three doubles and five stolen bases. Bakken was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for March 26.
* Junior third baseman Cherra `Scooter' Wheeler leads the team in batting (.333), doubles (6), RBI (15) and slugging percentage (.524). She was named the WHMP/UMass Athlete of the Week for March 12-19 for her performance in Tallahassee, Fla. when she hit .455 with four RBI.
* Sophomore hurler Kaila Holtz has proven to be the ace of the pitching staff so far in 2001, as she has a 7-1 record and wins over No. 20 Oregon and No. 21 Michigan to her credit. She has a 2.47 ERA with 37 strikeouts and only eight walks in 58.1 innings of work. She is also batting .206 with six doubles and seven RBI.
