University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Set To Face Central Connecticut Wednesday At 3:30
April 26, 2006 | Softball
April 26, 2006
Minutewomen Set For Blue Devils And Flyers
• Massachusetts (27-13, 12-2 A-10) will play a single game at Central Connecticut (6-29) Wednesday before returning home to host Dayton (16-25, 6-9 A-10) Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
• UMass has dominated both of these series', holding a 58-5 advantage over Central Connecticut and a 16-3 edge over Dayton.
• The Minutewomen recently had their season-long, nine-game winning streak snapped at Saint Louis last weekend, but are still in sole possession of first place in the A-10 standings. UMass leads both Charlotte and Fordham by a game for first place. Temple sits in fourth place a half-game behind them. Only the top four seeds advance to next month's A-10 Tournament.
Dominant In The Circle
• So far in 2006, freshman Brandice Balschmiter is proving to be a dominant pitcher, both regionally and nationally.
• The Newark, N.Y., native is currently 20-7 with a miniscule 0.68 ERA. She has 209 strikeouts in 195.2 innings pitched and eight shutouts. Balschmiter also had five, one-hitters. In four of those games, the only opponent hit has come via an infield single in the first inning.
• Balschmiter currently ranks first in the A-10 in both ERA and strikeouts. She is tied for the lead in wins. Nationally, she ranks fifth in ERA and 17th in wins.
• Balschmiter has six double-digit strikeout games, including a career-high 13 in UMass' 4-0 upset win over #24/25 North Carolina March 17 and then again March 31 at La Salle.
• Balschmiter has won the A-10 Pitcher of the Week award six times and is also a two-time recipient of the Rookie of the Week honor.
The First Of Many
• The first of what could be many school records to be broken by freshman pitcher Brandice Balschmiter occurred March 31 at La Salle.
• Balschmiter established a new school record by striking out 13 batters in a five-inning game.
• Danielle Henderson held the previous high of 12 on April 13, 1997, against Virginia Tech.
• Balschmiter is also moving up the UMass single-season ranks. She is currently eighth in appearances (34), eighth in complete games (25), 10th in innings pitched (195.2) and fifth in strikeouts (209).
• Balschmiter has allowed just three earned runs in the last 85.0 innings pitched.
Not To Be Outdone. . .
• On the other side of the ball, Balschmiter's classmate is making her presence felt on the record books as well.
• With one swing of the bat April 15 against Temple, Mollica left her mark on two records. Her two-run home run in game two against the Owls broke the all-time, single-season RBI record at UMass.
• Kim Gutridge held the previous mark of 45 which she did in 1998 in 59 games. Mollica tallied 47 in just 35 games.
• The home run, her second of the day and ninth of the season, also tied Brandi Cross for the most by a freshman. Cross did this in 2000.
• Mollica is also creeping up many other single-season lists. She ranks fifth in batting average (.407), fifth in home runs (9), tied for fifth in extra-base hits (25), second in slugging percentage (.780) and tied for fifth in on-base percentage (.464).
• Mollica has been the A-10 Player of the Week twice and the Rookie of the Week six times).
• Nationally, she ranks sixth in RBI per game (1.20), 20th in slugging percentage (.780), 46th in batting average (.407) and 28th in doubles per game (0.33).
• For a power hitter, Mollica is tough to strikeout. She has fanned just nine times all year and has a 1.44 walk to strikeout ratio.
• Mollica leads the team with 15 multi-hit and 14 multi-RBI games this year and enjoyed a 13-game hitting streak earlier this season.
Top Of The Order Is On Fire
• There would be no one for Mollica and clean-up hitter KJ Kelley to drive in without the ability to get on base by the top of the order.
• In the leadoff spot, Amanda Morin has been on a tear of late and is now second on the team and third in the A-10 with a .400 batting average.
• In the 25 games since moving to the leadoff spot, she is hitting .442 with 31runs scored. Morin is tied for second and 20th in the country scoring 0.95 runs per game. In that 25-game span, she has a .593 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage as well as eight stolen bases.
• Morin has recorded at least one hit in all but seven games this year and is second on the team with 14 multi-hit games.
And Batting Second...
• Right behind her in the two-hole is Candice Molinari. Molinari is on a career-high 15-game hitting streak. During this time, she is batting .489 (23-47) with a .617 slugging percentage, a .547 on-base percentage and seven stolen bases.
• For the season, Molinari is sixth on the team and 17th in the A-10 with a .336 batting average. In addition, she leads the squad and is second in the league with 18 stolen bases.
• Dating back to her freshman season in 2004, Molinari has been successful in 69 of her last 70 stolen base attempts.
They're Getting Up There...
• As a team, the UMass offense is slowly creeping up on a 27-year record. The .331batting average that the 1979 team posted is still the one to beat.
• In 2006, the Minutewomen have hit .322 so far. That is good for seventh in the country.
• UMass has five regulars batting over .336, including two over .400. No UMass team has ever had two players hit over .400 in one season.
• Mollica leads the way at .407. Morin is behind her at .400 followed by Lauren Proctor (.361), KJ Kelley (.345) and Molinari. Samantha Salato has also compiled a .395 average in 43 at bats. The first five all rank in the top 17 in the A-10. That is the most of any school.
• Nationally, the team ranks seventh in batting average (..322), 15th in both slugging percentage (.481) and doubles per game (1.53), 19th in scoring (5.53) and 24th in stolen bases per game (1.48).
She's Clutch...
• Mollica has also proven to be on the most clutch performers on the team. She is hitting .517 (31-60) with runners in scoring position and .615 (8-13) with a runner on third and less than two outs.
• Mollica is hitting .457 (21-46) with two outs and leads the team with 22 two-out RBI.
• Mollica tallied the game-winning hits in consecutive games. She hit the game-winning, two-run home run in UMass win over #24/25 North Carolina on March 17. The next day, her two-run single was the only scoring in UMass' 2-1 win over Michigan State.
• Mollica began her career by hitting the game-winning, two-run triple in the bottom of the sixth inning against Sacramento State Feb. 10. That was just her second career game.
Salato In A Pinch
• Freshman Samantha Salato is always a reliable option for the Minutewomen to turn to when a pinch hit is needed.
• The Toms River, N.J., native leads the team with a .556 (5-for-9) as a pinch hitter. For the season, she has made 12 starts and is batting .395 with 13 runs scored, three doubles, two triples, three home runs, 15 RBI, a .767 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage.
Kelley Looks To Add On
• UMass senior KJ Kelley set the UMass home run record on April 13 at UConn with her 27th all-time shot. Kelley actually hit two dingers in UMass' come-from-behind victory that day over the Huskies.
• Kelley finished the season by breaking her own school record with 14 home runs and now has 40 for her career with three this season.
• Career home run number 40 came April 18 at Boston College.
• She recently hit a pair of home runs in UMass' 6-0 win at George Washington March 24. That tied a school record and was the fifth time in her career, that she hit a pair of dingers in one game. It was the 15th time overall in school history that it has been done.
• Each of Kelley's three single-season home run tallies so far at UMass rank in the all-time top seven.
• Kelley is also third in school history with 141 RBI and needs seven more this season to tie Scooter Wheeler atop of the all-time charts.
• Kelley also ranks third all-time with a .627 slugging percentage.
Busa Settling Down
• After beginning the year 1-6 with a 12.30 ERA, senior pitcher Jenna Busa has begun to settle down and show the form from last year when she was named MVP of the A-10 Tournament.
• Since that start, Busa is 6-0 with a 1.26 ERA. She has five shutouts including her fourth career no-hitter March 31 at La Salle. Busa has allowed just seven earned runs on 32 hits and 10 walks in 39 innings. She has struck out 31 batters including a season-high seven against the Explorers.
Offensive Explosion
• UMass set a school record by scoring 20 runs in a 20-0 win over Dartmouth March 29. Thee amazing thing was that the game was still scoreless in the third inning. UMass scored eight runs in the third and then 12 more in the fourth.
• The previous record was 19 in a 19-0 win over Saint Peter's on March 16, 1985.
• UMass sent 15 batters to the plate in that 12-run, fourth inning. At one point, 10 straight batters reached base safely. Seven of those reached via an extra-base hit.
• Junior Michea Holness had just one career hit heading into the game, but had two doubles in that fourth inning. Freshmen Emily Wehr and Samantha Salato hit back-to-back home runs in the inning. For Wehr, it was her first career hit. She had struck out in her first career at bat earlier in the inning.
• Sophomore Stacy Cullington got the inning going with a grand slam.
• UMass hit eight doubles in the game against the Big Green, also setting a new school record. The previous high for two-baggers in a game was seven on May 1, 1991, against Providence.
Sortino Gets No. 900
• UMass head coach Elaine Sortino won career game number 900 with UMass' 6-0 win over Jacksonville on March 11 in the adidas Invitational.
• She became the ninth active coach to reach this plateau and the 11th ever.
• Sortino is now 922-401-4 all-time record. In wins, she ranks ninth all-time among active coaches and 11th all-time. Percentage wise, Sortino is 15th among active coaches and 12th all-time.
• Sortino is the fifth-fastest coach to reach 100 wins in NCAA history. She accomplished this feat in her 135th game as UMass beat Vermont 5-1 on April 13, 1984.
• UCLA head coach Sue Enquist is the fastest as she topped the century mark in her 109th game.
It All Began In The Same Place
• UMass freshman Whitney Mollica made her collegiate debut in San Diego, Calif., at the Campbell/Cartier Classic.
• Mollica, the granddaughter of legendary Major League Baseball player and manager Don Zimmer, has more than blood to relate the two.
• Zimmer actually began his 14-year managerial tenure with the San Diego Padres in 1972.
• Zimmer, the 1989 National League Manager of the Year (with the Chicago Cubs), also managed the Red Sox and Rangers.
• Zimmer was also a player for 12 years with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Mets, Reds and Washington Senators.
Program Nears 1,000
• UMass needs 12 more wins this season to reach the 1,000th win in program history. The Minutewomen are 988-428-5 all-time.