University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Closes Out Regular Season At St. Bonaventure
May 03, 2008 | Softball
May 3, 2008
AMHERST, MASS. - The 20th-ranked UMass softball (34-11, 18-0 A-10) team will close out its regular season Sunday with a double-header against St. Bonaventure (19-21, 10-5 A-10). The Minutewomen look to extend the nation's third-longest win streak to 25-games with the first pitch slated for 12 p.m. EST and game two at 2 p.m. EST.
The Minutewomen enter the final Atlantic 10 series with a 34-11 overall record and a perfect 18-0 record in conference action. UMass won the A-10 regular season title with a pair of wins against Saint Louis last Saturday and will be the No. 1 seed at the 2008 A-10 Championship Tournament May 7-10 in Charlotte, N.C. The Bonnies are 10-5 in conference play and currently sit in second place. They will look to keep their spot as they host Rhode Island Saturday at 12 p.m. before playing the Minutewomen on Sunday.
UMass leads the all time series with St. Bonaventure 39-1.
BROADCAST INFO
The game against St. Bonaventure will be broadcast on live audio through SportsJuice at www.UMassathletics.com with Mike Huff providing the coverage.
LIVE STATS
Live stats are available for all game's this season through GameTracker at www.UMassathletics.com
SCOUTING ST. BONAVENTURE
•The Bonnies hold an overall record of 19-21, 10-5 in the A-10. The Bonnies are coming off of back-to-back losses to Dayton and Canisius, 5-3 and 3-2, followed by a 9-1 (6) win over Rhode Island Friday.
•St. Bonaventure is hitting .234 as a team, led by Brinna Bricker (.331, 5 2B, 6 HR, 18 RBI)
•The Bonaventure circle owns a 2.41 era, led by pitcher Sherri Thompson (14-9, 1.55 era, 157 K's).
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. 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. Maroney went 5-for-10 (.500) last week, with two home runs including a grand slam. She also had nine RBI.
No. 20 UMass Ranked In All Three National Collegiate Softball Polls
The Minutewomen moved up from No. 24 to No. 20 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. This is the highest seed UMass has held in the 2008 season.
In the USA Today/NFCA Division I softball poll the Minutewomen are ranked No. 25. Previously, the team was receiving votes for this poll.
In the Ultimate College Softball Top 25 Poll the Minutewomen are ranked No. 22 overall after receiving votes last week.
SERIES STUFF
UMass has a 39-1 advantage in the all-time series. The lone win for the Bonnies came on May 5, 2006 where the Minutewomen fell 5-3..
WIN STREAKS
UMass' current 24-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.
A BALANCE OF POWER
Since entering conference play, the UMass bats have been explosive. The team is hitting .370 in A-10 action, with 67 extra-base hits, 25 home runs and 131 RBI. Overall, eight different Minutewomen players have gone yard, led by sophomore Sarah Reeves with eight home runs. UMass ranks 19th in the country in doubles per game with 1.57, and 27th in slugging percentage at .463.
ABOVE THE NORM
Already gaining buzz for her outstanding play in the field, sophomore center fielder Carly Normandin lit it up offensively the past few weeks. In UMass' last 10 games she is 13-for-27 (.481) with two doubles, three triples, and two home runs (including a grand slam) with 16 RBI to increase her batting average to .311. She was named A-10 Co-Player of the Week April 21 for her outstanding play. This season, Normandin also tied the UMass record
BALSCHMITER ON POINT
The right-handed pitcher is on pace for her best season ever. With a 24-6 record, the junior ace holds a .54 ERA with 250 strikeouts and two saves on the year. Her .54 ERA is currently the lowest in the nations. Balschmiter currently has the conference record for A-10 Pitcher of the Week Awards (19) and consecutive A-10 Pitcher of the Week Awards with six.
Balschmiter earned her eight 2008 A-10 Pitcher of the Week honor Monday, April 28th after capturing two more victories against Saint Louis over the weekend winning 14-0 and 9-0.
She has not allowed an earned run in 97.2 innings dating back to March 20 against Fordham. She has pitched 66 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to the Charlotte game on March 30. The 66 consecutive scoreless innings is 12th most in NCAA history tied with Linda Pagett of Central Michigan who accomplished the feat in 1982. It is also the second most in UMass history behind Danielle Henderson who has the NCAA record for consecutive scoreless innings with 105. for consecutive hits with seven (4/20-4/23).
UMASS CIRCLE RANKS AMONG NATION'S BEST
The Minutewomen circle composed of Balschmiter and Sanders is among the best in the country in ERA. The duo owns a low .98 ERA, which is the fourth best in the NCAA. Balschmiter's overall ERA of .54 is the best in the country while sanders' ERA stands at 1.94. Balschmiter also ranks fourth in the country in hits allowed per seven innings with a 3.47 average.
MAGNIFICENT MARONEY
Freshman Lindsay Maroney leads the Minutewomen in batting average (.387) and slugging percentage (.627). She has hit four home runs including two grand slams, she also has posted six 2B and 23 RBI in only 35 games. In conference play she is third on the team with a .422 average with three home runs and 32 RBI.
MINUTEWOMEN PLAYING BEST AT RIGHT TIME OF SEASON
With one series left of the schedule and the Atlantic-10 Tournament approaching UMass is playing some of its best softball this year. In the last ten games the Minutewomen are hitting .434 with 17 HR, 15 2B and are averaging 9.5 runs per game. Four hitters are batting over .500 in the stretch, Maroney (.522), Proctor (.500), Normandin (.500), and Mollica (.500). The pitching has been just as good. They have only allowed five runs in the last 10 games and have an era of .63. Brandice Balchmimter has seven wins and has not given up a run and Bailey Sanders has three wins and an era of 1.94.
