University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Harvard
Busa And Balschmiter Combine To Shut Out Harvard In Sweep
April 20, 2006 | Softball
April 20, 2006
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AMHERST, Mass. - Massachusetts (26-12) used a pair of shutouts to sweep Harvard (15-18) in a doubleheader Thursday afternoon at the UMass Softball Complex, 3-0 and 8-0 in five innings. In game one, freshman pitcher Brandice Balschmiter (Newark, N.Y.) fired her fourth one-hitter of the season. It was her eighth shutout of the year and second straight this week. Balschmiter walked two and struck out five as she improved to 20-6. Senior Jenna Busa (Lexington, Mass.) scattered four hits for her fifth shutout of the year and evened her record at 6-6. She walked two and struck out three. Senior KJ Kelley (Rainier, Ore.) went 3-for-4 at the plate with five RBI.
Game one started off as a pitcher's dual between Balschmiter and Harvard's Shelly Madick. The Crimson had the first chance of the game to score, but a great defensive play by UMass kept the game scoreless. Hayley Beck was hit by a Balschmiter pitch and went to second base on a sacrifice bunt. Becky Vertovez singled up the middle and Beck tried to score. UMass junior centerfielder Candice Molinari (Glendora, Calif.) fielded the ball and threw a strike to senior catcher KJ Kelley (Rainier, Ore.). Kelley blocked the plate and tagged out Beck to keep it a 0-0 game.
In the bottom of the third inning, the UMass offense struck for a pair of runs. Junior Amanda Morin (Worcester, Mass.) drew a one-out walk. After an infield single by Molinari, UMass had two on with just one out. Freshman Whitney Mollica (Windham, N.H.) nearly made it 3-0, but her towering fly ball was knocked down by the wind and caught by left fielder Pilar Adams on the warning track. With two outs now, Kelley came up with the clutch hit for the Minutewomen. She drove a double to the alley in right-center field driving home both Morin and Molinari to put UMass up 2-0.
UMass added another run in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore Lauren Proctor (La Jolla, Calif.) led off the inning with a walk and then scored a few batters later as sophomore pinch hitter Stacy Cullington (Encinitas, Calif.) reached on an error.
UMass had a golden opportunity to break the game open by loading the bases with just one out in the bottom of the fifth inning. Mollica reached on a one-out error and then Kelley and junior Amanda Acampora (Orange, Conn.) both walked. Proctor came up with a chance to give UMass some breathing room, but hit into an inning ending double-play.
Balschmiter worked around a walk in the seventh to close out her eighth shutout of the season. She walked two and struck out five.
In game two, Harvard put its first two runners on base against Busa, but she was able to work out of the jam on a ground out, a pop-up on the infield and a fly ball to right field.
UMass took advantage and plated three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Morin, Molinari and Mollica each singled to load the bases with nobody out. Kelley came up and gave UMass a quick 2-0 lead with a two-run single up the middle. Later in the inning, UMass added another run as freshman Samantha Salato (Toms River, N.J.) reached on an error allowing Kelley to score. The Crimson avoided a big inning when Acampora grounded into a double-play prior to Salato reaching, but UMass still spotted Busa a 3-0 lead heading to the second inning.
Morin gave UMass a 5-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run home run to right field. It was her first home run of the season.
Busa continued to flirt with disaster. Harvard had at least two base runners in each of the first four innings but did not score.
UMass put the game away with three more runs in the bottom of the fourth. The big hit was a RBI triple by Proctor. Runs also scored on a wild pitch and squeeze by Kelley.
Busa enjoyed a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, her first of the game, to secure the win. She walked two and fanned three.
UMass now heads to St. Louis, Mo. to face A-10 newcomer Saint Louis on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST. Live stats will be available at www.umassathletics.com.
