University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutewomen Play Head Game
May 26, 2006 | Softball
May 26, 2006
AMHERST - When Elaine Sortino recruits softball players, she has their minds in mind.
"I look for kids who are smart academically, and motivated," the University of Massachusetts coach said. "They're more likely to work their way through tough situations."
As UMass (40-14) heads to Evanston, Ill., for this weekend's NCAA Super Regional at Northwestern (45-12), the Minutewomen not only expect there will be pressure, they look forward to it.
In a sport that features close, low-scoring games at its highest levels, delivering in clutch situations is what UMass may do best.
"We cultivate the mentality," Sortino said. "How do you deal with situations? It's what separates the mental giants from the mental midgets."
With a young team being led by a freshman pitcher, Brandice Balschmiter, UMass has reached the NCAA's round of 16. If the Minutewomen win the best-of-3 series at Northwestern that opens tomorrow afternoon, they'll play in the College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
They've gone this far with talent, but also with a knack for making the right plays at key moments. It is not by accident, the players say.
"We strive for those moments," senior catcher KJ Kelley said. "Every play is important. You have to stay relaxed and within yourself."
"Softball is a very mental game, stop and go, and you have to be prepared," senior second baseman Kristi Stefanoni said. "Coach says it's like taking an exam. You don't cram for it, you prepare for it."
And so, UMass works on situation softball, with mental preparation and physical execution given equal attention.
"When a pitch is delivered, you have time to zone out," Stefanoni said. "You can't do that. We work on it in practice a lot."
"We talk about it a lot," Sortino said. "When we see who's melting down in practice, we get them to recognize that things can happen quickly, and they can't lose their focus."
In the fourth inning Sunday against Lehigh, Sortino went to the mound to make eye contact with her players, and calm them down. She found they were handling the bases-loaded, no-out pressure of a 1-0 game just fine.
"I just told them that we'd been in worse situations than this, and we'd come out of it," Sortino said. The Minutewomen came up with a triple play, and went on to a 3-0 victory.
Sortino tries to keep her team from going into the mental "yellow lights" area, she said. That's likely to be followed by the "red lights" area, where the team loses its total focus.
After Saturday's 6-4, 10-inning win over Lehigh, right fielder Lesley Ferrara said a quick chat with Sortino helped settle her down.
"I'd been feeling pressure earlier in the game," Ferrara said, "When I came up (in the 10th), coach said 'who's feeling pressure now?'"
The message - that the burden was on Lehigh - worked. Ferrara belted a three-run double to break the game open.
Balschmiter (31-7) has matured this season, but Kelley says there are moments the first-year pitcher needs support.
"She's pretty decent about staying calm," the UMass catcher said. "When she gets antsy, she does look a lot toward me or coach to calm her down. That's what we're there for."
Mental toughness alone won't lift UMass past Northwestern, the No. 4 seed in the 64-team NCAA field. With it, though, the underdog Minutewomen have a chance.
"Our team is very young, and they've got a lot to look forward to," said Kelley, whose career ends with this tournament. "Win or lose this weekend, it's been a great year. But this is a great motivator, knowing we're only two wins away from the Big Show."