Softball Opens Home Slate With Double-Dipper Against Dartmouth Wednesday

March 25, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. - After spending the first 25 games of the season on the road, the UMass softball team (14-11, 4-0 A-10) will play its home-opener on Wednesday March 26 in a double-header against Dartmouth (4-11, 0-0 Ivy) starting at 2 p.m. EST. The Minutewomen have won eight of their last 10 games, including four in-a-row. UMass holds a 5-0-1 advantage in the all-time series.

BROADCAST INFO
Over 30 Minutewomen regular season games will be broadcast online at www.UMassathletics.com. Media Relations assistant Mike Huff will call a majority of the road games as play-by-play commentator Matt Goldstein and the WMUA 99.1 team of Zach Claudio, Chris Marovelli and Mike Wash will call all the action at home games at UMass Softball complex.

SCOUTING DARTMOUTH
 Dartmouth has a 4-11 record on the season after going 2-2 last weekend at the Stony Brook Tournament in Stony Brook, N.Y.
 Dartmouth returns seven starting positional players after finishing 16-24 last season, 11-9 in the IVY League
 The pitching staff, comprised of hurlers Angela Megaw, Stephanie Trudeau and Devin Lindsay, holds a 3.20 ERA. Megaw leads the way with a 2.39 ERA to go with a even 2-2 record.
 The Big Green are hitting .150 as a team, led by freshman catcher Audrey Kolodziej (.255 average, 9 hits, 1 homerun and 5 RBI.
 The Minutewomen are 5-0-1 all-time vs. the Big Green, sweeping last years series 6-0 and 14-6 (5).

RECAPPING FORDHAM/ LA SALLE
On Thursday, Sophomore Sarah Reeves' home run in the top of the second inning propelled the Massachusetts softball team to 1-0 win over Fordham to sweep the Atlantic 10 Conference opening series. In game one, Junior Samantha Salato hit a 2-RBI double in the seventh inning for a 4-2 comeback win as the Minutewomen extended their conference win streak to 23 games. Sophomore catcher Jessica Serio went 5-for-7 with four doubles and an RBI to lead the team offensively. Sophomore pitcher Bailey Sanders gave up just two hits in the 1-0 while striking out two in the shutout. Junior Samantha Salato went 4-for-9 with two home runs and six RBI and the UMass pitching staff gave up just two runs with 19 strikeouts as the Massachusetts softball team (14-11, 4-0 A-10) pounced over La Salle (8-12, 2-4 A-10) for the double-header sweep on Saturday. The Minutewomen took game one 9-0 and game two 12-2. Sophomore Jessica Serio went 4-for-6 and junior Whitney Mollica went 5-for-8 with two doubles, a triple, a home run and three RBI, combining with Salato to lead the Mintuewomen offensively. Junior pitcher Brandice Balschmiter gave up just one hit while striking out 11 for the shutout win in game one to move her record to 9-6 on the season.

SORTINO CLOSES IN ON 1,000
UMass Head Coach Elaine Sortino is just 11 wins shy of becoming the 11th coach in NCAA Softball History and eighth 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.

BALSCHMITER ON POINT
The right-handed pitcher has picked up where she left off last season. With a 9-6 record, the junior ace holds a .92 ERA with 119 strikeouts and two saves on the year. Five of her six losses were to nationally ranked opponents (No. 12 Michigan, No. 5 UCLA, No. 9 Arizona, #18 DePaul, #19 Miss. State), however Balschmiter has 41 strikeouts in those games and hasn't given up more than three earned runs to any opponent this year. She was dynamite in a 13-inning 4-2 loss to No. 9 Arizona (2/23) as she struckout 10, while giving up just two earned runs to the back-to-back ncaa champions. The 13-innings pitched were a career high for Balschmiter. She was also terrific in the 4-1 win over No. Texas A&M (3/1), giving up just one run on nine hits while striking out five. 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.

A TREMENDOUS RECOVERY
After undergoing major surgery in the off-season to remove a blockage, sophomore pitcher Bailey Sanders has recovered strong.

With a 5-5 record, Sanders holds a 1.86 ERA with 34 strikeouts while giving up just 25 runs (only 15 earned). Sanders threw her first-career no-hitter in a 8-0 win over Rutgers (3/16) and earned her first ever A-10 Pitcher of the Week the following Monday.

CULLINGTON CLIMBS THE CHARTS
Senior Second Baseman Stacy Cullington continues to move up the UMass career charts. Already in second place on the home runs list (28), Cullington moved into third place on the walks list (87) after drawing six in the series against Fordham and La Salle.

DIRTY WORK
Starting all 25 games behind home plate this season, sophomore catcher Jessica Serio has done it all for the Minutewomen. Serio boasts a leads the team in batting average (.329) and doubles (8) and is fourth in runs batted in with seven. Serio had three doubles in a 3-for-3 outing in a 1-0 win over Fordham. Defensively, she has picked off five runners on 13 stolen base attempts and given up just two passed balls. Serio has also tagged four runners in some bang-bang plays at home plate.

REEVES "AMPED"
Sophomore Sarah Reeves has brought energy and life to the UMass lineup in her first year as a starter. The first baseman is third on the team in batting average (.275), and second in RBI (11). She went on a hitting terror with seven of the team's 27 on the first weekend of action. Her three doubles against Florida Atlantic (2/10) tied the UMass record for doubles in a game, and were the most since the 2005 season. Reeves was clutch against second-ranked Texas A&M, with a three-RBI single in the bottom of the second inning to lead UMass to the 4-1 win. She also knocked in the only run in a 1-0 win over Radford (3/14) and Fordham (3/20).

PROCTOR NAMED LOWES SENIOR AWARD CANDIDATE
Senior outfielder Lauren Proctor (La Jolla, Calif.) has been named as a candidate for the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. On Tuesday March 11, 30 candidates were announced for the Senior CLASS Award that honors the nation's best college softball players who also excel in the classroom and make an impact in their respective communities. A national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in late March 2008. Those ten names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote that will include coaches, media and fans. The award winner will be announced and recognized at the 2008 NCAA® Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

A-10 COACHES PICK UMASS FIRST
The UMass softball team has been picked to win the Atlantic 10 Championship by the league's 11 head coaches in the annual preseason poll. The UMass softball team has been picked to win the Atlantic 10 Championship by the league's 11 head coaches in the annual preseason poll. Last season, the Minutewomen won their 19th A-10 Title and went undefeated in conference play. At one point during the year, UMass enjoyed the nation's longest overall winning streak at 27 games and home-winning streak at 33 games. Fordham was predicted to finish second, while Saint Louis, who lost to the Minutewomen in last year's A-10 Championship game, was picked to finish third. Filling the remaining spots in the preseason poll were Charlotte, Temple, Saint Joseph's, George Washington, Saint Bonaventure, La Salle, Dayton, and Rhode Island respectively.

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.

UP NEXT - CHARLOTTE
Following the home-opener against Dartmouth, the Minutewomen will stay in Amherst to play Charlotte on Sunday, March 30.

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