University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutewomen Hitting Stride
May 10, 2007 | Softball
May 10, 2007
AMHERST - The University of Massachusetts softball team was not so long ago a work in progress, a relatively youthful bunch that still needed to hit stride, never mind come up to speed.
The Minutewomen are now very much a complete project, a balanced and deep team which feels on pace to play its best when it matters most.
That would be now, as in starting today.
The top-seeded Minutewomen (34-12-1) are hosting the Atlantic 10 Championships, a double-elimination tournament which continues through Sunday at the UMass Softball Complex. They meet fourth-seeded Temple (18-19) today at noon; the Owls beat fifth-seeded Charlotte 8-0 in five innings yesterday as play in the six-team field began.
"Everything has come together, and I think we're really where we need to," UMass coach Elaine Sortino said.
UMass, which has won a nation's best 23 in a row, struggled early in the season as it meshed a roster that includes seven freshmen and six sophomores.
Senior Amanda Acampora said a team meeting while in Florida helped point the way. Acampora and senior Candice Molinari are the team captains.
"We're very young, we have 13 underclassmen," said Acampora, who is hitting .303 with nine homers. "Candice and I knew it was going to be a challenging, bringing the freshmen up to the top. When you're a freshman, you kind of get caught up in everything going on."
There were also three new members on Sortino's staff, including former player KJ Kelley, so it took some time and work on everyone's part to make the Minutewomen who they are now.
"It was a grueling process to get them all on board, to get them to buy in and to be patient," Sortino said. "Particularly with the freshmen, because if they don't take a good energy level into practice, offensively and defensively, it really drags things down."
In the end, what Sortino and the Minutewomen feel they have a well-rounded group.
"I think through all the years I've coached this is probably one of the finest balanced teams we've had," she said.
Junior Stacy Cullington leads the offense with 14 homers and 48 RBIs, but four players have at least four homers and six have at least 19 RBIs. Seven of those in the probable starting lineup for today hit at least .299.
"I think what makes it different (this season) is we go very deep on to the bench, too," Acampora said. "There are numerous people who come off the bench and contribute to the offense. There are numerous people who can come off the bench as running specialists, who know running the bases like the back of their hands."
Brandice Balschmiter is 24-8 with a 1.36 earned run average. The sophomore has 218 strikeouts in 216 1/3 innings. Bailey Sanders is 10-4 with a 2.52 earned run average, but the freshman approaches the task differently.
"We are definitely a 1-2 punch," Balschmiter said. "We are two very different pitchers. She has finesse and motion on her ball. She has the rise ball, where I'm predominately a drop ball pitcher. I have speed, and she has movement, so we work very well together."
UMass is expected to play in the NCAA tournament, but winning the A-10 still matters quite a bit.
"This weekend is just awesome," Acampora said. "We're on the field we play every day, we're in the atmosphere we're in every day. We have the best fans, they are so supportive. I don't know, I just love this tournament."
The Minutewomen finished 41-16 last season, advancing to an NCAA Super Regional before they were eliminated by eventual tournament runner-up Northwestern.
"It's very helpful to have weathered the experience of championship play," Sortino said. "We've got three classes that have done it through very difficult situations.
"I think the other thing that helps us is that everybody comes at us hard. We're a big game on everybody's schedule, and we know that."