University of Massachusets Athletics
Carly Normandin Pays Off: UMass Finds Hidden Gem
May 20, 2009 | Softball
May 14, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - Carly Normandin was long on potential and short on suitors before playing in her first game at UMass.
Normandin was in her junior year of a record-breaking career at Gardner High and her team was playing Taconic in a Division 1 state semifinal at the UMass softball complex. Normandin went 0-for-3 in Gardner's 2-0 loss, but she caught the eye of Minutewomen coach Elaine Sortino, and their chance encounter proved mutually beneficial.
Normandin will bat leadoff and play center field when Atlantic 10 champion UMass (38-8) hosts Cornell (42-11) in the Amherst Regional of the 2009 NCAA Division 1 tournament tomorrow (7:30 p.m.). No. 3 Washington (41-10) faces Sacred Heart (25-26) in the opener of the double-elimination format.
"I found her on our field," Sortino said. "I came down here that day and I was standing along the fence watching this outfielder and I was thinking `Who is this kid?' I was intrigued by her and I followed that up with some phone calls and invited her in for a visit. She never thought about coming to UMass and she had no idea how good a player she could be.
"I bet there are a lot of Carly Normandins out there in this sport that don't get noticed but she is such a talent."
Despite compiling a Gardner school record .527 average (.690 as a junior), the 5-foot-9 speedster did not appear on any Div. 1 watch lists. Her horizons were limited until Sortino entered the picture.
"I was not really recruited heavily, and mostly by Div. 2 and Div. 3 schools," she said. "And just by playing here at UMass my junior year I got a big opportunity from a big school so I jumped on it."
Normandin secured a starting job in the UMass outfield as a sophomore. She started 52 games, produced a .324 average with 14 doubles, three triples and six home runs from the lower third on the order.
Sortino moved Normandin to leadoff this season, and she escalated her performance. After UMass secured its 21st Atlantic 10 title on May 9, Normandin had a .426 average with 14 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 34 RBI and a .476 on-base percentage. She parlayed those lofty offensive digits with a stellar .968 fielding percentage to win the A-10 Player of the Year award.
"She actually tried me at leadoff last year but I started to struggle," Normandin said. "It wasn't like hitting leadoff had gotten into my head or I was putting pressure on myself, but it didn't work out so she moved me back to the bottom. This year she immediately had me at leadoff so I knew what she wanted me to do and what my role was.
"I wanted to be that leadoff hitter and I knew I had to make those adjustments, study the pitcher and be patient that I would get more than one good pitch to hit."
The Minutewomen hosted the NCAA regional last year and were eliminated by Stanford on a soggy weekend in which they played four games in 36 hours.
Sortino described tomorrow's opponent, Cornell, as a power hitting team that will be a good challenge for staff ace Brandice Balschmiter (31-4, 0.91 ERA).
