University of Massachusets Athletics
No. 20 UMass Softball Begins A-10 Championship Play Thursday
May 07, 2008 | Softball
May 7, 2008
2008 Atlantic 10 Championship
UMASS (36-11, 20-0) vs. Fordham (34-28, 11-9)
Thursday, April 8, 2008 • 11 a.m. (ET)
D.L. Phillips Softball Complex• Charlotte, N.C.
Live Video: UMassAthletics.com
Radio: Sports Juice (UMassathletics.com)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The 20th-ranked UMass softball team (36-11, 20-0 A-10), the No. 1 seed, will begin play in the Atlantic 10 Tournament this Thursday at 11 a.m., at D.L. Phillips Softball Complex in Charlotte, N.C. The Minutewomen will face the No. 4 seed Fordham, who defeated Saint Joseph's 1-0 in the first round of the tournament. Live video streaming is available online via UMass All-Access at UMassathletics.com. Free live audio will be available for all UMass games through Sports Juice at UMassathletics.com. Matt Goldstein and Mike Huff will call the action for UMass. GameTracker will be also be available on UMassathletics.com. Due to inclement weather forecasted for Thursday in the Charlotte area, the game time has been changed to 11 a.m.
• After finishing the regular season with a 36-11 overall record, Massachusetts to head off to the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship at Charlotte 49ers softball diamond in Charlotte, N.C. May 7-10. The Minutewomen are the No. 1 seed.
• The Minutewomen are on the nation's second longest winning streak (26) and are coming off their first second-straight undefeated season in A-10 play (20-0).
• UMass is the only team in A-10 history to have gone undefeated in league play and done it seven times now in the 24 years of A-10 regular season play.
• The Minutewomen have now captured 20 regular season titles (19 solo and one shared).
• UMass has won 13 of the last 14 tournament titles and 19 of the 24 total championships. UMass and Temple shared the 1990 tournament crown.
• UMass is the No. 1 seed and will receive as bye along with second-seeded St. Bonaventure (20-22). No. 3 Charlotte (32-29) will play No. 6 Saint Louis (23-31-1) at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, while No. 4 Fordham (33-28) meets No. 5 Saint Joseph's (18-21) at 2:00 PM. UMass plays the winner of the Fordham/Saint Joe's game Thursday at 2:00 PM.
• This is the second year of the six-team format.
Watch It Live
• The entire 2007 Atlantic 10 Softball Championship will be streamed live on the Internet.
• Fans can access the links via UMassathletics.com.
• Live stats will be available for every game via Gametracker and all UMass games will be broadcast free on live audio through Sportsjuice at www.UMassathletics.com. Matt Goldstein and Mike Huff will have the call beginning 15 minutes before the scheduled first pitch.
• The finals on Sunday will be televised on CSTV (same day tape-delay) at 8 p.m. EST
UMass In The A-10 Tournament
• UMass is 65-14 (.823) all-time in the A-10 Tournament.
• UMass has won 19 A-10 Tournament titles (18 outright, one shared with Temple in 1990), including 16 of the last 18.
• The Minutewomen have won 38 of their last 41 tournament games and outscored the opposition, 325-110 all-time. Since capturing its first tournament title in 1986, UMass is 62-8 (.886) and has outscored the opponent 303-83.
BALSCHMITER NAMED A-10 PITCHER OF THE YEAR, MARONEY ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AS EIGHT MINUTEWOMEN RECEIVE CONFERENCE HONORS
As announced by the league office on Monday evening, junior pitcher Brandice Balschmiter (Newark, N.Y.) has been named the 2008 Atlantic 10 Softball Player of the Year. This is Balschmiter's third-straight Pitcher of the Year award. In that same vote, freshman Lindsay Maroney (Bradford, Mass.) was tabbed as the Rookie of the Year and Elaine Sortino was named Coach of the Year for the second straight year and ninth time overall.
Joining the All-Conference first-team from UMass are sophomore Sarah Reeves (Elkton, Md.), junior Whitney Mollica (Windham, N.H.) and sophomore Carly Normandin (Gardner, Mass.). The All-Conference second-team consists of sophomore Whitney Williams (Kinsley, Pa.), senior Lauren Proctor (La Jolla, Calif.) and sophomore Jessica Serio (Barrington, R.I.). Lauren Proctor, a journalism and English major, was also named to the softball Academic All-Conference team.
No. 20 UMass Ranked In All Three National Collegiate Softball Polls
The Minutewomen fell a spot from No. 20 to No. 21 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll.
In the USA Today/NFCA Division I softball poll the Minutewomen moved up from No. 25 to No. 23.
In the Ultimate College Softball Top 25 Poll the Minutewomen are ranked No. 20 overall after being No. 22 last week.
WIN STREAKS
UMass' current 26-game win streak ranks second among NCAA Div. 1 schools. The Minutewomen are also currently holding 38-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.
Balschmiter Named USA Softball National Player Of The Week
UMass junior pitcher Brandice Balschmiter was named USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week for throwing back-to-back no-hitters last week, it was announced Tuesday. The honor is the first-ever for Balschmiter, who holds the nation's lowest era at .53.
Balschmiter (25-6) went 2-0 giving up no runs with 15 strikeouts on the week.
A BALANCE OF POWER
Since entering conference play, the UMass bats have been explosive. The team hit .372 in A-10 action, with 73 extra-base hits, 27 home runs and 144 RBI. Overall, seven different Minutewomen players have gone yard, led by sophomore Sarah Reeves with six home runs and senior Samantha Salato and sophomore Whitney Williams with five home runs apiece. 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 of the regular season, she hit 18-for-29 (.621) with four doubles, three triples, and two home runs (including a grand slam) with 20 RBI to increase her overall batting average to .336. She was named A-10 Co-Player of the Week April 21 for her outstanding play. This season, Normandin also tied the UMass record for consecutive hits with seven (4/20-4/23).
BALSCHMITER ON POINT
The right-handed pitcher is having her best season ever. With a 25-6 record, the junior ace holds a .53 ERA with 257 strikeouts and two saves on the year. Her .53 ERA is currently the lowest in the nation. Balschmiter currently has the conference record for A-10 Pitcher of the Week Awards overall (22), in a season (9) and consecutive A-10 with seven.
Balschmiter earned her ninth 2008 A-10 Pitcher of the Week honor Monday, May 5 after capturing a victory over Boston College and St. Bonaventure, both no-hitters.
She has not allowed an earned run in 102.2 innings dating back to March 20 against Fordham. She has pitched 71 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to the Charlotte game on March 30. The 71 consecutive scoreless innings is 11th most in NCAA Division 1 history. It is also the second most in UMass history behind Danielle Henderson who has the NCAA record for consecutive scoreless innings with 105.
On April 4th Balschmiter pitched a perfect game against George Washington where she recorded 13 strikeouts. This was her first career collegiate perfect game and the eight in UMass history. She added another perfect game on April 20 in a 12-0 win over Dayton to move within one of tying the all-time UMass record of three held by Danielle Henderson. She has five no-hitters on the season, seven in her career.
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 now 822 career strikeouts, 521 behind UMass all-time leader Danielle Henderson (1,343). The win against Temple gave Balschmiter the 78th win of her career, moving her into second place on the UMass all-time wins list. (Danielle Henderson, 108) With 86 career wins, she is now just 22 shy of the record.
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 .96 ERA, which is the fourth best in the NCAA. Balschmiter's overall ERA of .53 is the best in the country while sanders' ERA stands at 1.88. Balschmiter also ranks fourth in the country in hits allowed per seven innings with a 3.27 average.
MAGNIFICENT MARONEY
Freshman Lindsay Maroney is second on the team in batting average (.370) and slugging percentage (.605). She has hit four home runs including two grand slams, she also has posted seven doubles and 23 RBI in only 35 games. In conference play she is third on the team with a .392 average with three home runs and 17 RBI.
WILLIAMS SHOWS LEADOFF POWER
Sophomore Whitney Williams has been powerful as a leadoff hitter this year. The shortstop has six home runs and 12 extra-base hits on the year. Her 11 doubles are tied for the second most on the team. Three of her six home runs were in three-consecutive games. She is fourth on the team with a .534 slugging percentage, sixth in average (.301) and seventh in RBI (21).
REEVES "AMPED"
Sophomore Sarah Reeves has brought energy and life to the UMass lineup in her first year as a starter. The first baseman holds a .295 batting average and is second on the team in RBI (34) while leading in home runs with eight. 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.
DIRTY WORK
Starting all 47 games behind home plate this season, sophomore catcher Jessica Serio has done it all for the Minutewomen. Serio boasts a team leading .383 batting average and also leads in double with 13. She had three doubles in a 3-for-3 outing in a 1-0 win over Fordham Mar. 20.
MINUTEWOMEN PLAYING BEST AT RIGHT TIME OF SEASON
With the Atlantic-10 Tournament having arrived, UMass is playing some of its best softball this year. In the last 12 games the Minutewomen are hitting .428 with 16 HR, 17 doubles and are averaging 9.4 runs per game. Seven hitters are batting over .400 in the stretch, led by Carly Normandin (.621). The pitching has been just as good. They have only allowed seven runs in the last 10 games and have an era of .72. Brandice Balchmimter has seven wins and has not given up a run and Bailey Sanders has three wins and an era of 2.10.
