University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Places Six On NFCA All-Region Teams
May 17, 2006 | Softball
May 17, 2006
AMHERST, Mass. -- Six University of Massachusetts softball players have earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Northeast Region honors. Freshman pitcher Brandice Balschmiter (Newark, N.Y.), junior first baseman Amanda Morin (Worcester, Mass.), freshman third baseman Whitney Mollica (Windham, N.H.), sophomore left fielder Lauren Proctor (La Jolla, Calif.) and junior center fielder Candice Molinari (Glendora, Calif.) were each named first team selections, while senior catcher KJ Kelley (Rainier, Ore.) was a second-team selection. Each first-team member is now eligible for All-American honors. The five first-team picks were the most of any school in the region.
Balschmiter, the A-10 Pitcher of the Year and Tournament MVP, has had a stellar freshman season thus far. She led the league in most categories including wins, ERA, strikeouts, innings pitched and opponent's batting average. Balschmiter currently has a 28-7 record, the seventh most wins in the nation. She ranks fifth in the nation in ERA (0.71), while also racking up 266 strikeouts and a .139 opponent's batting average. Balschmiter has allowed just nine earned runs in her last 136.2 innings pitched and tallied 11 shutouts this season. She went over the 10-strikeout mark seven times fanning 13 twice. Once was in a 4-0 upset win of #24/25 North Carolina March 17. The other time was in five innings March 31 at La Salle. The 13 k's broke the UMass five-inning strikeout record of 12 previously held by Danielle Henderson on April 13, 1997, against Virginia Tech. Balschmiter was an eight-time A-10 Pitcher of the Week and also picked up two Rookie of the Week nods. Balschmiter has found her way to the top 10 lists of nearly every single-season record. She is tied for second in appearances (43), fourth in complete games (32), fourth in innings pitched (247.1), fourth in strikeouts (266), ninth in shutouts (11) and tied for second in wins (28). She is also 10th in career strikeouts.
Morin was also a first-team Atlantic 10 All-Conference pick. She came into the season a career .284 hitter, but is second on the team, third in the A-10 and 33rd nationally with a .412 batting average. She is also second in the league and 12th in the country with 49 runs scored. Morin is fourth in the A-10 with a .457 on-base percentage, second with 70 hits, tied for seventh with 11 doubles, eighth with 88 total bases and tied for sixth with 11 stolen bases. Morin also has a .518 slugging percentage. Since moving to the leadoff spot two months ago, Morin has batted .444 with 42 runs scored in 36 games. She has a .496 on-base percentage in that span. Morin is tied for first on the team with 19 multi-hit games, and has recorded at least one knock in all but nine games this season. Her batting average this season is the sixth-highest in a UMass single season, while her 49 runs are tied for the third-most so far.
Mollica became the first player in the history of the Atlantic 10 to be named Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season. She has a .419 average (first in A-10 and 25th nationally), a .795 slugging percentage (first in A-10 and 15th nationally), a .483 on-base percentage (first in A-10), 36 runs scored (eighth in A-10), -- MORE -- 63 hits (fifth in A-10), 59 RBI (first in A-10 and fifth in nation), 16 doubles (first in A-10 and 25th in nation), four triples (tied for third in A-10), 11 home runs (tied for first in A-10), 120 total bases (first in A-10) and was also 6-for-7 in stolen base attempts. Mollica's 59 RBI are a UMass and A-10 single-season record, while her 11 home runs are the most every by a UMass freshman. Mollica has team-highs of 19 multi-hit and 18 multi-RBI games and enjoyed a 13-game hitting streak during the season, the second-highest by a UMass player this year. She had a team-high 27 two-out RBI while batting .500 (38-76) with runners in scoring position and .452 (47-104) with runners on base. On the UMass single-season charts, Mollica ranks fifth in batting average (.417), tied for fifth in doubles (16), tied for third in home runs (11), first in RBI (59), second in extra-base hits (31), second in slugging percentage (.795) and fourth in on-base percentage (.483). Mollica is a seven-time Rookie of the Week and two-time Player of the Week selection.
Proctor, a second-team All-Conference pick, is third on the team and fourth in the A-10 with a .396 batting average. Proctor also had 30 runs scored, 59 hits (seventh in the A-10), 10 doubles, a triple, a home run, 18 RBI, 74 total bases, a .497 slugging percentage, .455 on-base percentage (tied for fifth in the A-10) and was also 8-for-9 in stolen bases. She committed just one error in the field, while also posting 16 multi-hit games. Proctor was also an A-10 Academic All-Conference member and was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District first-team and is eligible for Academic All-America honors.
Molinari also enjoyed a career year en route to her first all-conference and all-region selection. She entered this season as a career .280 hitter, but has raised that nearly 100 points to .388, good for fifth in the A-10. She also has 47 runs scored (third in A-10 and 17th nationally), 62 hits (sixth in A-10), 11 doubles (had just one in her career coming into this season), three triples (tied for seventh in A-10), 18 RBI, 77 total bases, a .481 slugging percentage, a .453 on-base percentage and is 24-for-26 in stolen base attempts (first in A-10 and 27th nationally). Molinari recently had her career-high, 20-game hitting streak snapped, but has still hit safely in 24 of her last 26 games at a .518 clip. Dating back to her freshman year (2004), Molinari has successfully stolen 73 of her last 77 bases. Each of her three stolen base tallies thus far have ranked in the school's top 10 and she ranks third all-time at UMass with 76 stolen bases. On the single-season charts, Molinari is sixth in runs scored this year with 47. She had 18 multi-hit games.
Kelley, four four-time A-10 All-Conference member, is the UMass career leader in home runs (40) and RBI (149). This season, Kelley is 11th in the A-10 with a .348 batting average. She has 48 hits, nine doubles, five home runs, 39 RBI (sixth in A-10), 72 total bases, a .522 slugging percentage and a .453 on-base percentage. Behind the plate, Kelley leads the league with 10 pick-offs. Kelley, who was recently named the UMass Senior Athlete of the Year, ranks 11th all-time at UMass in batting average (.335), first in home runs (40) and RBI (149), fourth in extra-base hits (73), first in walks (109) and third in slugging percentage (.617).
The Minutewomen are in the midst of preparing for the NCAA Softball Amherst Regional this weekend at the UMass Softball Complex. Play gets underway Friday with #2 UMass taking on #3 Albany at Noon. Immediately following will be #1 Texas A&M and #4 Lehigh.
All session passes are now on sale for the NCAA Softball Amherst Regional, May 19-21, at the UMass Softball Complex. All session passes will cost $12 for adults and $8 for youth 18 and under. Advance tickets may be purchased by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-866-UMASS-TIX or in person at the Mullins Center Box Office. UMass students will receive a complimentary admission by showing their student ID at the gates courtesy of the Athletic Department. Single session tickets will be available at the gates only on game day. Individual session tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for students and children. Gates each day will open up at 11:00 a.m.
All UMass games this weekend will be broadcast on WPNI, 1430 AM as well as online at www.umassathletics.com. Bob Behler and Matt Goldstein will call all of the action beginning 15 minutes prior to the scheduled first pitch.