University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Places Five On NFCA All-Region Teams
May 16, 2007 | Softball
May 16, 2007
AMHERST, Mass. -- Five student-athletes from the University of Massachusetts Softball team have been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Northeast Region teams it was announced Wednesday in voting conducted by head coaches. Senior Candice Molinari (Glendora, Calif.), junior Stacy Cullington (Encinitas, Calif.) and sophomore Brandice Balschmiter (Newark, N.Y.) earned first-team, honors while senior Amanda Morin (Worcester, Mass.) and junior Lauren Proctor (La Jolla, Calif.) received second-team accolades. Each All-Region pick across the country is now eligible for NFCA All-American status which will be released during the Women's College World Series later this month.
Balschmiter earns her second straight first-team All-Region honor a week after collecting her second straight A-10 Pitcher of the Year award and A-10 Tournament Most Outstanding Performer. She is 27-8 with a 1.31 ERA. Balschmiter has appeared in 40 games, making 34 starts and completing 31 of them. She has recorded 14 shutouts and two no-hitters while holding opponents to a .184 average. Balschmiter has allowed 159 hits and just 45 walks in 235.1 innings pitched while striking out 246 batters. She took a perfect game into the seventh inning against Fordham (May 4), but a one-out error was the only base runner. She has had seven double-digit strikeout games, including a career-high 16 vs. La Salle (May 6). Balschmiter has won in each of her last 20 starts and just had a string of 37.1 consecutive scoreless innings pitched snapped in the A-10 Championship game. Balschmiter ranks 23rd in the nation in ERA and 11th in wins.
Despite being only a sophomore, Balschmiter appears in several UMass career records. She is now eighth in appearances (89), sixth in complete games (68), eighth in innings pitched (524.2), third in strikeouts (542), eighth in walks per outing (1.96), seventh in shutouts (28), tied for fifth in ERA (1.12) and sixth in wins (59).
This is the first All-Region selection for Cullington who is in the midst of a career year. She is hitting .318 with 31 runs scored, 42 hits, 11 doubles, 15 home runs, 53 RBI, a .742 slugging percentage, 31 walks, a .455 on-base percentage and two stolen bases. With a grand slam, her third of the season, May 12 against Saint Louis in the A-10 Championship game Cullington set a new UMass and A-10 single-season record of 15. She also set a new UMass single-game record with seven RBI this year against Boston University. Cullington had three multi-home run games to go along with 10 multi-hit and 14 multi-RBI games. In addition, she averaged a home run every 5.5 at bats in conference games. Cullington is now second all-time at UMass with 27 home runs while her lifetime .608 slugging percentage is fifth-best.
Molinari receives her second straight first-team All-Region honor and is looking to become just the ninth player in UMass history to bat .400 in a season. She has compiled a .401 average thus far with 40 runs scored, 61 hits, three doubles, 12 RBI, a .421 slugging percentage and a .477 on-base percentage. She is 20-for-25 in stolen base attempts and needs just six more to tie the UMass career record. Molinari committed just one error in the field all season and led all A-10 outfielders with seven assists. Molinari had 17 multi-hit games and takes an 18-game hitting streak into the NCAA Tournament, just two off her career best. On the career charts, Molinari is ninth in batting average (.401), fourth in runs scored (150), tied for seventh in hits (203), seventh in walks (68) and second in stolen bases (97).
Morin is a second-team All-Region pick in 2007 after earning first-team accolades in 2006. She is batting .307 this year with 43 runs scored, 55 hits, three doubles, three triples, a home run and 22 RBI. She has a .374 slugging percentage and a .369 on-base percentage as well as stealing 14-of-15 bases. Morin has also compiled a .983 fielding percentage and had 15 multi-hit games. She now ranks eighth all-time at UMass in at bats (650), sixth in runs scored (143) and sixth in hits (209).
Proctor rounds out the UMass awards as a second-team pick after being named to the first-team a year ago. She is hitting .367 with 33 runs scored, 54 hits, 13 doubles, two triples, a home run and a career-high 40 RBI. She compiled a .503 slugging percentage, .438 on-base percentage, 19 walks and is a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts. She had just one error in the field all season while recording 15 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games. Proctor is fifth all-time in school history in batting average (.352) and 10th in doubles (33).
Massachusetts is hosting a regional for the second straight year May 18-20 at the UMass Softball Complex. The Minutewomen (37-12-1) are seeded second in the Amherst regional and will face third-seeded Long Island (33-20 Friday at 4:30 PM. Oklahoma (52-6) is the top seed in the region and No. 3 national seed. The Sooners, who are ranked No. 1 in this week's ESPN.COM/USA Softball top 25 poll, will play fourth-seeded Colgate (25-22) at 2:00 PM. Tickets for the Amherst Regional can be purchased at the Mullins Center Box Office, by calling 1-866-UMASS-TIX or at the ticket booths outside the UMass Softball Complex. All-tournament passed cost $20 for adults and $10 for UMass students and children 18 & under while individual day tickets cost $10 and $5, respectively. Free live video, audio and stats will be available for every game on the tournament central page of www.umassathletics.com.