University of Massachusets Athletics
Balschmiter And Sanders Honored By Atlantic 10
April 23, 2007 | Softball
April 23, 2007
AMHERST, Mass. -- Massachusetts sophomore Brandice Balschmiter(Newark, N.Y.) has been named the Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week while freshman pitcher Bailey Sanders (Durham, Conn.) was picked the co-Rookie of the Week. This is Balschmiter's fourth Pitcher of the Week award while Sanders collects her second weekly award (one Pitcher of the Week and one Rookie of the Week). Each pitcher won two games as the Minutewomen won four league games last week and extended the nation's second-longest active winning streak to 15 games.
Balschmiter went 2-0 with a 0.51 ERA and her first save of the season as Massachusetts remained the only unbeaten team in league play with four wins this weekend. She also helped extend the Minutewomen's winning streak to 15 games which is second in the nation. Balschmiter allowed three runs, one earned, on seven hits and no walks in 13.2 innings pitched. She struck out 10 batters and held opponents to a .159 average. After pitching a complete-game three-hitter in game one against Temple, she picked up her first save of the season in game two. Facing a bases loaded, one-out jam in a 6-3 game, Balschmiter recorded a pair of strikeouts to get out of the sixth inning. A run did score with her out there on a passed ball. She worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning to preserve the 7-4 win. Balschmiter also pitched a complete-game four-hitter in game one against Saint Joseph's.
Sanders went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA as Massachusetts remained the only unbeaten team in league play with four wins this weekend. She also helped extend the Minutewomen's winning streak to 15 games which is second in the nation. In 10.1 innings pitched Sanders allowed four unearned runs and just five hits while walking five and striking out 13. She limited opponents to a .128 batting average. Sanders pitched her first collegiate shutout in an 8-0 win over Saint Joseph's. She struck out a career-high nine batters in just five innings. She retired 14 of the game's final 15 batters after getting out of a second and third one out jam in the first inning. Sanders also picked up a win against Temple on the weekend pitching 5.1 innings of three-hit ball.
Massachusetts, which is tied with Alabama for the nation's longest home winning streak (21), closes out the regular season with nine straight games at the UMass Softball Complex over the next two weeks. Up first, the Minutewomen host Connecticut on Wednesday at 5:00 PM. Live audio and stats will be available for every game at www.umassathletics.com beginning 10 minutes before the scheduled first pitch.
