University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Fordham
#24/19 Softball Splits Doubleheader With Fordham
May 03, 2009 | Softball
May 3, 2009
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AMHERST, Mass. - Behind a stellar pitching performance from Brandice Balschmiter, #24/19 UMass softball defeated Fordham, 4-0, before dropping game two, 5-4, in Sunday afternoon's home finale at the UMass Softball Complex. The loss snapped a 54-game regular season home winning streak by the Minutewomen. UMass finishes the regular season 35-8 overall and 16-2 in Atlantic 10 play, while Fordham goes to 36-20 overall and 13-7 in conference.
The Minutewomen will head to the Bronx, N.Y. and the Fordham campus for the Atlantic 10 Championship. The top-seeded Minutewomen will play their first game on Thursday at 1 p.m. against the winner of Wednesday's match-up of the fourth-seed Fordham and fifth-seed Saint Joseph's.
UMass' last regular season loss at home was on April 9, 2006, when they fell to Charlotte, 2-1.
Balschmiter (28-4) was dominate in game one, allowing just one hit, infield single in the second inning, while striking out 13 and not walking a batter. She retired 13 in a row after allowing the hit and finished the game by retiring 17 out of the last 18 she faced, the only other base-runner reaching on an error.
Bailey Sanders (1-3) started game two and took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks in one-plus innings.
UMass scored the first run in game one in the bottom of the second inning on a groundball off the bat of Audrey Boutin that scored Sarah Reeves. Reeves led off the inning with a double to deep center and advanced to third on an error by the centerfielder.
The Minutewomen plated two more runs in the third inning. With two out, Carly Normandin started a string of four singles in a row, with Whitney Mollica and Reeves each driving in one run, giving UMass a 3-0 lead. Mollica's RBI was the 148th of her career, tying her with Scooter Wheeler for second on the all-time UMass list.
The lead reached four runs in the sixth when Samantha Salato crushed a pitch over the left field fence and into the parking lot. It was the senior's 15th home run of the season, tying Stacy Cullington's UMass and Atlantic 10 record for home runs in a season set in 2007.
In the second game, the Rams took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Mary Beth Puccio, who reached on a two-out error, scored on a RBI single by Samantha Pellechio. They built on that lead in the second inning, scoring four more runs to make it a 5-0 game. Beckah Wiggins led off the inning with a home run to left field off starter Bailey Sanders. After a walk to the next batter, Melissa Andrews hit a two-run homer to left field.
Sara Plourde then relieved Sanders and issued a walk and an RBI single by Puccio before Balschmiter was brought in to retire the next three batters and get UMass out of the inning with Fordham leading 5-0.
UMass scored a run in the bottom of the second on a bases-loaded walk by Jessica Serio that scored Salato. Salato had reached on an infield single, followed by a walk and an error. The home team pushed another run across in the third inning when Normandin led off the frame with a single to right field that was misplayed, allowing her to reach third base on the play. Whitney Williams the drove in Normandin with a sacrifice fly to left field, making it 5-2.
Davina Hernandez worked a two-out walk in the bottom of the sixth, allowing Normandin to pull UMass within a run, 5-4, with a two-run home run to right field. It was the junior centerfielder's ninth home run of the season.
Mineau, who entered the game in the fifth inning, retired the last four UMass batters of the game to record the save. Starter Chelsea Plimpton (12-3) got the victory, going 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, none earned.
UMass has now hit 59 home runs on the season, breaking the program record of 56 set in 2005.
