University of Massachusets Athletics
Brandice Balschmiter Named Easton Second-Team All-American
June 03, 2008 | Softball
June 3, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts softball junior pitcher Brandice Balschmiter (Newark, N.Y.) was named an Easton Second-Team All-American on Tuesday. She has now earned All-America honors in each of her three seasons at UMass and she becomes the only player in program history to have earned three Easton All-America honors.
Balschmiter turned in her best season to date posting a 31-8 record, a 0.66 earned run average, 18 shutouts, and 309 strikeouts in 267 innings of work. She held opponents to a .150 batting average, allowing just two home runs on the year. She threw five no-hitters including two perfect games, which ranks her one short of tying the UMass all-time record for perfect games.
Two of her streaks this season placed Balschmiter amid the top ranks of the NCAA Record Books. She won 24 straight games this season, tied for the 11th longest such streak in NCAA softball history, as part of UMass' 30-game win streak. She also posted a stretch of 78 consecutive scoreless innings pitched which stands as the 10th longest scoreless stretch in NCAA history and was the longest in the nation this season.
In addition to her All-America honor this season, she was named to the NFCA All-Northeast Region First-Team, named the Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year (3rd straight honor), and named the Atlantic 10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player. She earned A-10 First-Team All-Conference Honors and was the A-10 Pitcher of the Week nine times during the season including seven consecutive weeks - both A-10 records. Prior to the season, she was named to the USA Softball Preseason Player of the Year Watch List.