University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Softball To Face George Washington This Weekend
April 02, 2008 | Softball
April 2, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. - The Massachusetts softball team (18-11) returns to Atlantic 10 action this weekend as it travels to George Washington (5-12) in its fourth conference series of the season. Game one of the series will begin Friday at 3 p.m. and game two is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Saturday. The Minutewomen are winners of 12 of their last 15, including eight in a row.
BROADCAST INFO
Live audio will not be available for the series against George Washington, however fans can follow live stats through GameTracker at www.UMassathletics.com.
SCOUTING GEORGE WASHINGTON
o George Washington holds a 5-12 record on the season after losing the series against Georgetown last week, 3-2 and 11-10
o George Washington returns all eight starting positional players and one starting pitchers after finishing 23-27 last season, 9-11 in the A-10
o The pitching staff is led by Amanda Gabriel who has a 4-8 record with a 2.37 ERA. Gabriel leads the Colonials in strikeouts (77) and opponents batting average (.246).
o The Colonials are hitting .310 as a team, led by junior outfielder Jackie Yaniga (.382 average, 5 doubles, 1 triple and 8 RBI) and senior outfielder Chrysanthi Halkiotis (.356 average, 8 double, and 13 RBI's).
The Minutewomen are 8-0 all-time vs. George Washington, sweeping last years series 9-1 and 4-2.
STRONG SCHEDULE
Coach Sortino and the Minutewomen have put together a very tough non-conference schedule before beginning A-10 conference play and have been rewarded for it. The Minutewomen currently have the 18th strongest schedule in the nation according to WarrenNolan.com. After facing 10 teams from last season's NCAA postseason, including 2007 WCWS participants Texas A&M, Baylor and DePaul as well as the 2007 national champion Arizona Wildcats, UMass entered A-10 conference play with the nation's top overall S.O.S. The Minutewomen have played eight current top-25 teams (Including No. 1 UCLA), going 2-6 in those matches highlighted by a 4-1 win over then-No. 2 Texas A&M. UMass currently sits at No. 30 in the 2008 NFCA RPI. The NCAA is scheduled to release its 2008 Division I softball RPI on April 4, April 18 and May 2.
WIN STREAKS
The Minutewomen are currently on a 24-game A-10 Conference win streak. The last conference loss for UMass was against St. Bonaventure on May 5, 2006. The Minutewomen also currently hold a 30-game regular season home win streak. The last regular season home loss was April 9, 2006 to Charlotte.
MINUTEWOMEN SWEEP SERIES WITH CHARLOTTE 7-1, 5-2 ON DEDICATION SUNDAY
UMass (18-11, 6-0 Atlantic 10) and Charlotte (18-19, 3-3 A-10) traded early leads but a three run sixth inning put the Minutewomen back on top 5-2 for good as UMass extends its Atlantic 10 winning streak to 24 games on "Dedication Sunday" at UMass Softball Complex. The Minutewomen, who cruised to a 7-1 victory in game one, have won eight in a row.
Senior left fielder Lauren Proctor went 4-for-6 with three RBI on the day as junior pitcher Brandice Balschmiter (12-6) and sophomore hurler Bailey Sanders (6-5) each grabbed a win in their respective outings.
SORTINO CLOSES IN ON 1,000
UMass Head Coach Elaine Sortino is just 7 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 12-6 record, the junior ace holds a .79 ERA with 139 strikeouts and two saves on the year.
Balschmiter earned her fourth A-10 Pitcher of the Week honor Monday, March 31st. Five of her six losses were to nationally ranked opponents (No. 12 Michigan, No. 5 UCLA, No. 9 Arizona, No. 18 DePaul, No. 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. 2 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.
She has not allowed an earned run in 26.2 innings dating back to March 22 against La Salle. Has not allowed an extra base hit in 33.2 innings dating back to March 20 against Fordham.
COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH
Jessica Serio (.359), Whitney Mollica (.303), and Sarah Reeves (.273) have been UMass's top three hitters this season, but they have also hit in key spots for the Minutewomen.
*With two outs Reeve's is batting .357 and 10 of her 14 RBI's have come with two outs.
*With runners on base Serio is hitting a team best .404 and with the bases loaded .667.
*In RBI opportunities Mollica is hitting .345.
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 (91) after drawing four in the double header against Dartmouth (3/26). Cullington is now 10 walks away from breaking the UMass single season record for walks. She also ranks ninth in the country in walks per game (.80).
DIRTY WORK
Starting all 29 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 (.359) and doubles (9) and is fifth in runs batted in with 10. Serio had three doubles in a 3-for-3 outing in a 1-0 win over Fordham. She is hitting 14-for-21 (.667) with six doubles and four RBI to go with a .952 slugging percentage in UMass' last eight games.
Defensively, she has picked off six runners on 20 stolen base attempts and given up just three passed balls. Serio has also tagged four runners in some bang-bang plays at home plate. Serio extended her hit-streak to eight games going 2-for-4 with a RBI in the series against Charlotte.
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 (.273), and second in RBI (14).
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). Reeves hit her second home run of the season to help the Minutewomen beat Dartmouth 7-0 in the first game of a double header (3/26).
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 TREMENDOUS RECOVERY
After undergoing major surgery in the off-season to remove a blockage, sophomore pitcher Bailey Sanders has recovered strong.
With a 6-5 record, Sanders holds a 2.06 ERA with 39 strikeouts while giving up 30 runs (only 19 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.
BALSCHMITER NAMED TO PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Brandice Balschmiter has been named to the initial watch list for the seventh annual USA Softball
National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. The right-handed pitcher earned her second-
straight Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year award last season after leading the Minutewomen to their
19th A-10 Championship in 2007. Balschmiter's 1.39 ERA was 22nd best in the country, earning
her First Team NFCA All-Region and Second Team Easton All-America honors.
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.
GRANDSTAND RENOVATION
Construction on new grandstand bleachers at UMass softball complex has begun. One hundred
chairback seats rising 30-ft high are being installed and will be ready for the home opener on
March 26.
UP NEXT - GEORGE WASHINTON
Following the three game series against George Washington, UMass will return home to face Boston College Wednesday, April 9. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. Next weekend, the Minutewomen will host St. Joseph's Friday April 11 at 3 p.m. EST and Saturday April 12 at 12 p.m.
