University of Massachusets Athletics
Mollica Sent Parking Primer To Future Coach
June 30, 2008 | Softball
June 30, 2008
STRATFORD, Conn. - John Stratton first noticed Whitney Mollica from afar, not that he saw her right away. Stratton had parked his car at Florida Atlantic University on St. Patrick's Day, 2006.
He got out. And he had to duck. "A ball almost hit my car," Stratton remembered. "I wasn't just behind the fence, either. I was 50, 60 feet away from the fence." The obvious question went through the Stratford Brakettes manager's mind: "Oh my God, who hit that?"
UMass coach Elaine Sortino filled him in: It was Whitney Mollica, freshman third baseman, who'd sparked the Minutewomen to a 4-0 win over North Carolina in a spring tournament. "I said, 'Is she that good a hitter?' She said yes," Stratton said.
They next met in Stratford that summer when Stratton was leading the professional Brakettes and Mollica was set to play with the amateur Brakettes.
He remembered. That bat makes an impression. Now in her third Brakettes season, Mollica went into Saturday night with a .527 batting average in 20 games.
Friday, she hit her fourth and fifth home runs in 55 at-bats; her slugging percentage was a tidy .855. "Her hitting will put her in the pros," Stratton said. "She's got a nice stroke.
She's got a shot. Whether they'll draft her, I don't know, but they like people that hit the ball hard. It's up to her, how hard she wants to work."
Mollica, who lives in Windham, N.H., would love a shot at professional softball. She's Italian, so she could get a chance in Italy if the National Pro Fastpitch league doesn't come calling after her senior year at UMass.
"I have to keep playing hard and have a good attitude," said Mollica, who balances her playing career with a sports management major. "Maybe play in Italy. Maybe be a graduate assistant, maybe get a master's, maybe work for a professional organization."
Her bat may open the door. Stratton considers her a good baserunner, too, and thinks her defense may be better than advertised; she made six errors in 55 UMass games this season.
"You play (55) ballgames, a third baseman gets a lot of plays," said Stratton, who has played Mollica mostly at first base this summer after picking up Jess Mouse from LSU. "She throws really well."
She probably has some of those fundamentals in her blood. Her grandfather is Don Zimmer, baseball lifer, a former Major League player and manager who's now an advisor in Tampa Bay's front office.
Zimmer has been to DeLuca Field to watch his granddaughter play, and people always ask Mollica about him. "People ask, but I don't even think about it," Mollica said. "He's just my grandfather. "He knows he doesn't have to tell me anything.
My coaches are good. He's just there to support me. He's amazed at how our pitchers pitch."
Mollica honed her game at Salem High, winning two state championships and earning the nod as state player of the year after hitting .556 as a senior.
UMass - where she plays with three of her Brakettes teammates, Brandice Balschmiter, Jessica Serio and Bailey Sanders - was a good choice for her. "It was the best decision I ever made for me," Mollica said.
"I've been very privileged to be on this team, too. I have a great coach in Elaine Sortino. I have great (Brakettes) coaches in Johnny Stratton, his son (Jay), Mr. (Rich) Roessner."
And fortunately for Stratton, he parks in foul territory at DeLuca Field. "She's kind of a natural hitter," Stratton said. "She throws the bat-head out there. She's got a nice, level swing. She's a super nice kid."
The Mollica file
WHO - Whitney Mollica
WHAT - Brakettes first baseman/third baseman
HOMETOWN - Windham, N.H.
BATS/THROWS - R/R
RESUME - Took a .527 batting average into Saturday's games, with five home runs and 17 RBIs. ... Hit .329 with six home runs for UMass this season, her junior year. ... ECAC, Atlantic 10 first-team; NFCA Northeast Region second-team. ... Granddaughter of MLB mainstay Don Zimmer.
