University of Massachusets Athletics
No. 24 Minutewomen Softball Closes Home Slate With UConn Tuesday
April 28, 2008 | Softball
April 28, 2008
AMHERST, MASS. - The 24th-ranked UMass softball team will host the University of Connecticut in its final home game of the season on Tuesday afternoon at the UMass Softball Complex. The Minutewomen look to extend the nation's third-longest win streak at 23-games with the first pitch slated for 5 p.m. EST. UMass defeated UConn 6-0 on April 23.
BROADCAST INFO
The game against UConn will be broadcast on live video through UMass All-Access with Matt Goldstein providing the play-by-play. The game will also be available through live audio on WMUA 91.1.
LIVE STATS
Live stats are available for all game's this season through GameTracker at www.UMassathletics.com
SCOUTING UCONN
• The Huskies sit in fifth place in the Big East, holding an overall record of 25-21, 11-7 in conference play. UConn has lost five straight games, starting with a 6-0 loss to UMass last week. The Huskies also dropped series against #23 DePaul and Notre Dame
• UConn is hitting .282 as a team, led by Melissa Lucas (.364, 4 HR, 17 RBI)
• The Huskie circle owns a 2.73 era, led by Rachael Crossin (9-11, 2.20 era, 122 K's) and Tricia Sullivan (13-10, 2.94 era, 139 K's).
SERIES STUFF
UMass has a 43-41-2 advantage in the all-time series. The last match-up came last week when the Minutewomen defeated UConn 6-0. Brandice Balschmiter threw her third no hitter of the season for UMass.
SERIO, BALSCHMITER AND MARONEY GARNER A-10 WEEKLY AWARDS
The Atlantic-10 Conference announced Monday that Jessica Serio has been named the Atlantic-10 Softball Player of the Week. The Atlantic-10 also announced that Brandice Balschmiter has been named the Pitcher of the Week while Lindsay Maroney has been named the Rookie of the Week. All three players played crucial roles in the Minutewomen's 3-0 record last week.
Serio had one of her best offensive weeks of the season, hitting .700 on a 7-of-10 performance at the plate, including a double and 5 RBI. In a series sweep against St. Louis, Serio went 5-for-7 with 5 RBI. She also went 2-for-3 in a 6-0 win over UConn. For the season, she leads the team in doubles with 12 and is second on the team with a .364 batting average.
Balschmiter won her six straight Atlantic-10 Pitcher of the Week honor, and her eighth of the season. She went 3-0 last week, allowing no runs with striking out 16 batters in just 14 innings. She also pitched her third no-hitter of the season against UConn on April 23. Against the Huskies, she struck out seven batters over seven innings in the 6-0 victory at UConn. She also threw three shutout innings in a 14-0 rout against St. Louis, giving up two hits while striking out three on April 25. On April 26, Balschmiter pitched four innings in a 9-0 win over St. Louis, giving up three hits while striking out six.
Maroney went 5-for-10 (.500) last week, with two home runs including a grand slam. She also had nine RBI. In a 14-0 victory over St. Louis on April 25, she went 2-for-4 with five RBI and her second grand slam of the season. In game two against St. Louis she went 2-for-3, hitting her third home run of the season and adding three RBI. For the season, she leads the team with a .380 batting average.
WIN STREAKS
UMass' current 23-game win streak ranks third among NCAA Div. 1 schools. The Minutewomen are also currently holding 36-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 40-game regular season home win streak. The last regular season home loss was April 9, 2006 to Charlotte.
UMass Softball Shutouts Out Saint Louis In Doubleheader, 14-0 & 9-0
The UMass softball team (33-11, 18-0 A-10) extended their winning streak to 23 games after shutting out the Saint Louis Billikens (17-31-1, 7-9 A, 10) in Saturday's doubleheader. With the wins UMass clinches the Atlantic 10 regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the A-10 Tournament held in Charlotte in May.
A BALANCE OF POWER
Since entering conference play, the UMass bats have been explosive. The team is hitting .356 in A-10 action, with 60 extra-base hits, 22 home runs and 111 RBI. Overall, eight different Minutewomen players have gone yard, led by senior Samantha Salato and sophomore Sarah Reeves with seven home runs apiece. UMass ranks 15th in the country in doubles per game with 1.59, and 37th in slugging percentage at .45.
UP NEXT - Boston College
Following the match-up against UConn, the Minutewomen will travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass. to square off against Boston College on Wednesday, April 30. Game time is scheduled for 4 PM EST.
