University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Steps Into Leadoff Classic With Big Matches On Slate
February 27, 2008 | Softball
Feb. 27, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass softball team will face three top-25 opponents for the second weekend in a row as it heads to the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. this weekend. The Minutewomen will face Florida State (11 a.m. EST) and No. 19 DePaul (1:30 p.m. EST) on Friday and No. 2 Texas A&M (4 p.m. EST) and Auburn (6:30 p.m. EST) on Saturday. On Sunday, UMass finishes off the classic with a match-up against 18th-ranked Mississippi State at South Commons Stadium and Complex.
BROADCAST INFO...
Over 30 Minutewomen regular season games will be broadcast online at www.UMassathletics.com through SportsJuice. Media Relations assistant Mike Huff will call the majority of road games while Matt Goldstein and the WMUA 99.1 cast of Zach Claudio, Chris Marovelli, and Mike Wash return to do play-by-play for every home game. In addition, live stats can be followed on the web through GameTracker.
SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE
• The Seminoles sit at 8-6 on the season after dropping two out of three in a three-game series last week against North Carolina to open up ACC Conference play.
• Florida State returns seven positional starters from last year's 44-25 NCAA Regional squad.
• The Bruins are hitting .290 with eight home runs as a team and are led on the year by senior outfielder Whitney Buckmon (.447, 3 RBI, 8 stolen bases), junior outfielder Jessica Gilmore (.347, 3 RBI) and sophomore catcher Robin Ahrberg (.313, 1HR, 6 RBI).
• The Seminole circle holds a 2.21 ERA as sophomore Teresa Gober leads the pack with a 1.96 ERA and a 4-4 record with 54 strikeouts on the year.
SCOUTING DEPAUL
• The 19th-ranked Blue Deamons head into the classic with a 7-4 record, having three of their four loses come against two top-25 teams (3-2 to 17th-ranked Georgia, and 5-0 and 1-0 to No. 14 Houston). Head Coach Eugene Lenti looks to return DePaul to the WCWS in 2008 after making it to the school's fourth appearance in 2007.
• DePaul is hitting a .266 as a team on the season and is led by junior third baseman Amber Patton (.375, 3 stolen bases), sophomore DP Marie Thompson (.357, 2 RBI) and junior catcher Jackie Tarulli-Fisher (.333, 3 HR, 9 RBI).
• The Blue Demon pitching staff owns 1.70 ERA as junior right-hander Lauren Frankiewicz heads the crew with a 3-1 record and a 1.73 ERA with 34 strikeouts.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
•Second-ranked Aggies improved their record to 16-2 on the season after swiping a perfect 7-0 record in their own tournament, the Texas A&M Invitational last weekend.
•Texas A&M has three top-25 wins this season, including a 3-2 decision over defending national champions Arizona on Feb. 16. The Aggies are the fourth team UMass faces this season that went to the 2007 Women's College World Series.
•The powerful A&M offense is hitting .308 with 15 home runs and 95 RBI. It is led by senior first baseman Amanda Scarborough (.472, 2 HR, 12 RBI), sophomore outfielder Macie Morrow (.355, 2 HR, 10 RBI) and senior pitcher Megan Gibson (.327, 4 HR, 19 RBI).
•The pitching staffs holds a commanding 1.27 ERA with freshman Rhiannon Kliesing's .41 ERA and 4-0 record leading the way. Versatile veteran Megan Gibson is a close second with a 1.12 ERA and 45 strikeouts to go with a perfect 8-0 record.
SCOUTING AUBURN
• The Tigers went 4-1 last weekend at the UCF Tournament in Orlando, Fla., and added a pair of wins against Alabama A&M on Tuesday to run their record to 12-1 on the season. Their only loss came as a 9-0 result to No. 12 Michigan.
• Auburn is hitting .285 as a squad and are led by Katie Colton (.545, 4 RBI) and Brittany Scott (.387, 2 stolen bases).
• With eight appearances, Anna Thompson (6-1, .83 ERA, 58 K's) is the team's top pitcher so far this season. Thompson leads a circle with a 1.10 ERA and an opponent batting average of .175.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
• The 18th-ranked Bulldogs are off to a 13-2 start to the 2008 season after going 2-2 with a couple of rainouts at the Mercer Wingate Inn Classic last weekend. MSU was off to its school second-best 11-game win streak before falling to Western Kentucky. MSU defeated Austin Peay 12-4 (6) and Mercer (5-3), while losing twice to the Hilltoppers (2-1, 4-2) in the tournament.
• Mississippi State is hitting .312 with 9 home runs and 67 RBI, and has 41 stolen bases on the year. The Bulldogs are led by sophomore All-American Chelsea Bramlett (.510, 1 HR, 12 RBI) who is a perfect 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts. Adding speed to the already quick lineup is senior outfielder Nakita Boyce (.340, 2 RBI) who has nine stolen bases of her own on the year.
•The MSU circle holds a 1.40 ERA with junior righty Kelsey Nurnberg (7-1, 1.57 ERA, 25 K's) and freshman Misty Flesher (5-1, 1.17 ERA, 29 K's) holding the spot down.
PALM SPRINGS RECAP
The Minutewomen lost three cutting-edge matches to start the Palm Springs Classic last weekend, including a 4-2 nail-biter to No. 5 UCLA, a 6-4 slide to No. 10 Baylor, and a 13-inning 4-2 thriller to NCAA defending champion No. 9 Arizona. UMass rebounded nicely for a pair of wins over Fresno State (4-3) and Michigan State (5-1) to run its record to 4-6 on the season.
It was a season-high game against the Spartans, as the Minutewomen came out swinging with an 11 hit, two home run and four double performance. The 11 hits combined with 10 against Fresno State were 11 more than the team had in the three previous games (10).
NO NEED TO WORRY
The 4-6 record and .215 team batting average are nothing to worry about in UMass land. The Minutewomen started the 2007 season 11-11-1 before going on a 27-game win streak leading up to NCAA Regionals. Despite a 4-6 record, the Minutewomen have not lost by more than two runs to any opponent this year. The 4-2 loss to No. 4 UCLA was the closest any team came to the Bruins in the whole tournament as they went 5-0 with wins over No. 5 Northwestern, No. 13 Baylor, No. 15 Hawai'I and No. 17 Georgia. UMass' only time being shutout this season was to No. 12 Michigan by a score of 1-0.
BALSCHMITER ON POINT
The right-handed pitcher has picked up where she left off last season. Despite a 3-3 record, the junior ace holds a .94 ERA with 52 strikeouts and one save on the year. All three loses were to nationally ranked opponents (No. 12 Michigan, No. 5 UCLA, No. 9 Arizona), however Balschmiter has 25 strikeouts in those games and hasn't given up more than two earned runs to any opponent this year.
She was dynamite in a 13-inning 4-2 loss to No. 9 Arizona (Feb. 23) as she struckout 10, while giving up just two earned runs to the NCAA defending national champions. The 13-innings pitched were a career high for Balschmiter.
With three strikeouts in a relief appearance against No. 10 Baylor, Balschmiter moved into second place on the UMass all-time strikeout list with 597.
SERIO TABBED A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore catcher Jessica Serio was named Atlantic 10 Conference Softball Player of the Week, it was announced Monday. Serio had an outstanding weekend of softball at the Palm Springs Classic, going 7-of-13 (.538) with two doubles and four RBI in five contests which included three top ten opponents. She is currently sitting on a six-game hitting streak which is a career best for the young player.
WELL ABOVE THE NORM
In just seven starts on the year, sophomore centerfielder Carly Normandin has made her place count in the lineup. She is hitting .304 with a home run and 4 RBI, including a 240 ft. blast against No. 5 UCLA. Normandin has done it on the defensive end as well with a couple of amazing diving catches in the outfield. The Gardner, Mass. native started only nine games total in her 2007 freshman campaign and is just three away from surpassing that mark.
DIRTY WORK
Starting all 10 games behind home plate this season, sophomore catcher Jessica Serio has done it all for the Minutewomen. Serio boasts her team leading batting average .357 and is tied with teammate Sarah Reeves for the lead in doubles with three.
Defensively, she has picked off four runners on five stolen base attempts and given up only one passed ball. Serio has also tagged a pair of runners in some bang-bang plays at home plate.
WELCOME BACK BAILEY
After having a rib removed and an artery transferred from her leg to her arm to remove a blockage, sophomore pitcher Bailey Sanders has recovered strong from her off-season surgery. Despite a 1-3 record and a 3.05 ERA with eight strikeouts, Sanders pitched terrific in a 4-3 win over Fresno State on Feb. 23. The right-hander gave up just four hits and three runs (one unearned) while retiring 20 and striking out one for her first win of the season. Had it not been for three errors by the defense against North Florida, she could very well be 2-2 on the season.
SORTINO CLOSES IN ON 1,000
UMass Head Coach Elaine Sortino is 23 wins shy of becoming the eighth coach in NCAA Softball History and seventh in Division 1 to record 1,000 career wins. Entering the 2008 season, Sortino compiled a 975-419-5 (.699) record through 28 years at UMass. She ranks among the top 10 in both wins and winning percentage and is a 2004 National Fast pitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee. While at Massachusetts, Sortino has never had a losing season and enjoyed 20, 30-win seasons, six, 40-win seasons and one 50-win season. Sortino has produced 19 All-Americans, 10 A-10 Players of the Year, 13 A-10 Pitchers of the Year, Seven A-10 Rookies of the Year and 91 All-Conference picks.
UP NEXT - THE USF UNDER ARMOUR CLASSIC
Following its road trip to Georgia, the Minutewomen will take a week off before heading back to Florida for the USF Under Armour Classic on Feb. 14-16. UMass will open play against Radford (1:00 p.m. EST) and Florida International (6 p.m. EST) on Friday (Feb. 14), then play Indiana (1:00 p.m. EST) and Rutgers (4 p.m. EST) on Saturday (Feb. 16) before heading into the championship round on Sunday (Feb. 17).
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE FOR FIRST TIME IN SCHOOL HISTORY
For the first time in school history, season tickets will be sold for University of Massachusetts softball games. Ticket packages are available now and can be purchased by calling 866-UMASS-TIX. Softball season tickets are $65 for GA chairback seats, $40 for GA adult bleacher seats, $35 for GA senior/faculty/staff bleacher seats, and $25 for GA youth bleacher seats.
