University of Massachusets Athletics
Balschmiter and Serio Honored By The A-10
May 07, 2007 | Softball
May 7, 2007
AMHERST, Mass. -- Massachusetts sophomore Brandice Balschmiter (Newark, N.Y.) was named the Atlantic 10 Softball Pitcher of the Week while freshman Jessica Serio (Barrington, R.I.) earned her first-ever Rookie of the Week honor. The duo helped Massachusetts clinch its 19th A-10 regular season title and complete its sixth perfect record in A-10 play. She also helped the Minutewomen extend their overall winning streak to 23 games and home winning streak to 29, both of which are the longest in the nation. This is the fifth weekly honor for Balschmiter this season and the first of Serio's career.
Balschmiter was 3-0 with a save and a 0.00 ERA on the week. She did not allow a run and pitched three shutouts while yielding just six hits in 23 innings. She did not issue a walk and had 27 strikeouts as well as limiting opponents to a .078 average. After pitching a three-hit shutout against Boston College Tuesday, she recorded her third career no-hitter Friday against Fordham. She took a perfect game into the seventh inning, but a one-out error was the only Fordham base runner of the day. After Balschmiter pitched two innings of one-hit, shutout ball for a save against the Rams on Saturday, she struck out a career-high 16 La Salle batters in a two-hit shutout Sunday.
Serio batted .556 and recorded a .733 on-base percentage on the week. She went 5-for-9 at the plate and also drew six walks. She had two doubles, a run scored and a RBI. Serio had the game-winning RBI double in the fourth-inning of game two against La Salle on Sunday. She hit safely in four of the five Minutewoman games this week while not committing an error behind the plate.
Massachusetts will be the No. 1 seed in the 2007 Atlantic 10 Championship May 9-12 at the UMass Softball Complex. UMass and No. 2 seeded Fordham will each receive first-round byes. No. 4 seeded Temple and No. 5 seeded Charlotte meet in one first round game while No. 3 Saint Louis will face No. 6 George Washington. UMass play the winner of the Temple/Charlotte game on Thursday, May 10 at Noon. Live video, audio and stats of every A-10 Championship game will be available via the Championship Central button on www.umassathletics.com. For ticket information, please visit the Mullins Center Box Office, call 1-866-UMASS-TIX or purchase in person at the UMass Softball Complex beginning at 11:00 AM each day of the championship.