University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Hosts Five In A Row At Home
April 26, 2011 | Softball
April 26, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. -
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CBS 3 Now
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UMASS HOSTS FIVE IN A ROW AT HOME
The UMass softball team (22-15, 10-3 A-10), winner of 13 of its last 14 games, continues its 12-game homestand with five games at the UMass Softball Complex this week. On Wednesday, the Minutewomen take on Boston University in a 5 p.m. game before hosting Fordham in a two-game Atlantic 10 series on Friday (3 p.m.) and Saturday (12 p.m.). A-10 play continues on Sunday when La Salle comes to Amherst for a doubleheader beginning at noon.
• Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday's games will be televised live on CBS 3 Now, while Friday's game, as well as all home games, can be seen live on UMass-All-Access at UMassAthletics.com. Free live stats for all games will also be available at UMassAthletics.com by clicking on the GameTracker links.
• Junior pitcher Sara Plourde became just the third UMass pitcher to reach 900 career strikeouts with 30 K's against Saint Bonaventure on April 10, and is the first to reach the 900 strikeout plateau during her junior season. She had a school-record streak of 30 1/3 no-hit innings streak at home snapped with a two out single in the sixth inning of game two against the Bonnies.
• Head Coach Elaine Sortino is in her 32nd season leading UMass. She has won 1,122 games in her career after entering 2011 with exactly 1,100. The 2004 NFCA Hall of Fame inductee ranks fifth among active Division I head coaches in wins and has a career winning percentage of .706 (1,122-465-6).
A-10 FINALS TO AIR ON CBS SPORTS:
• The Atlantic 10 Conference announced on Monday, April 18 that CBS Sports Network will televise a live broadcast of the championship finals of both women's lacrosse and softball this spring.
• Charlotte and the D.L. Phillips Softball Diamond will host the 2011 A-10 Softball Championships, May 11-14. Six schools will qualify for the tournament as first round action gets underway on Wednesday, May 11. The championship final is set for Saturday, May 14 at 3:30 p.m., with game two, if needed, scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
• CBS Sports Network can be found nationally on DirecTV channel 613 and the Dish Network channel 152. Local cable subscribers are encouraged to check their local listings. For complete coverage of the Atlantic 10 Conference, log on to www.atlantic10.com.
CLIMBING THE STANDINGS:
• The Minutewomen (10-3) are currently in second place in the Atlantic 10 standings with a .769 winning percentage, behind Temple (11-3), while Fordham is trailing right behind at 12-4. UMass is however in a three-way tie for the conference lead in the loss column with the Owls, Minutewomen, and Saint Joseph's (7-3) all with three losses.
MINUTEWOMEN TAKE FIVE OF SIX LAST WEEK:
• Massachusetts began last week's six-game set with three non-conference opponents in Connecticut, Fairfield and a doubleheader with Syracuse. In Wednesday's matchup with the Huskies, Stephanie Mayne hit a two-run home run in the top of the third inning, and thanks to a 3-strikeout three-hitter pitched by Sara Plourde, it was all the scoring that was need as UMass softball defeated Connecticut 2-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Burrill Family Field. The Huskies led off the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles, but Plourde struck out three in a row to end the game and extend the Minutewomen's winning streak to nine games.
• Plourde continued her dominance on Thursday when she threw a two-hit shutout and struck out 12 batters to lead UMass to a 1-0 victory over Fairfield on a blustery afternoon at the UMass Softball Complex that saw wind chills in the 30s and gusts over 40 miles per hour. Stephanie Mix scored the lone run of the game on a wild pitch in the fourth inning.
• The Orange snapped the Minutewomen's ten-game winning streak with a 2-1 win in game one of a doubleheader. Syracuse took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second when Jasmine Watson doubled to left center after Rachel Helman led off the frame with a walk. UMass got a run back in the seventh inning and had the tying run at third base when the final out was recorded. Stephanie Mayne led off with a walk, her pinch-runner, Waldie, advanced to second on a throwing error that put Rogers on base. After two strikeouts, Caira threw the ball away on a comebacker to the circle by Matthew, allowing Waldie to score, but Magill grounded out to Caira to end the first game.
• Massachusetts got back on track with a 2-0 win over the Orange in game two, which saw Plourde toss a two-hitter fanning five in her second complete game of the day. The Minutewomen took a 1-0 lead in game two in the bottom of the second inning. Audrey Boutin led off with the first hit of the game and her pinch-runner, Candace Waldie, took second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a ground out, and scored when the first baseman, Jasmine Watson, threw the ball away trying to double her off at third base. UMass again manufactured a run with just one hit in the fifth inning. Teea Rogers led off with an infield single, was bunted over to second by Jordan Storro, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a third-strike wild pitch to Cyndil Matthew.
• Getting back into Atlantic 10 play on Sunday with a doubleheader against George Washington, UMass was able to pick up a sweep over the Colonials with a 6-0 and 5-4 (8 innings) wins. Kyllie Magill drove in the winning run in the eighth inning with UMass' third-straight infield single to complete the 5-4 comeback victory and give UMass the doubleheader sweep over George Washington. After a one-hit shutout win by Sara Plourde in game one, the Minutewomen trailed 4-0 in game two, but scored two runs in the sixth and got a two-run home run by Audrey Boutin in the seventh to force extra innings.
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS:
• Boston University, winners of five-straight, currently sit in second place in the America East standings with a 27-12 record overall and 9-3 mark in league play.
• The Minutewomen own an 11-3 record against the Terriers all-time, including a 3-2 win earlier this season in Boston. Kyllie Magill had two hits, including a triple, and drove in a pair of runs to lead UMass to the victory on a blustery Wednesday afternoon at the BU Softball Field. The Minutewomen led 3-0, but the Terriers plated two runs in the sixth inning and had runners at second and third in the bottom of the seventh when a lineout to third base ended the game.
• April Setterlund and Chelsea Kehr have led the offensive attack for the Terriers this season with averages of .375 and .321, respectively. Setterlund, a 2010 First-Team All-American and America East Player of the Year, has six home runs and 30 RBI in 2011, including 24 stolen bases and a conference leading 35 walks. Kehr, in her first full season with the team after an injury sidelined her in 2010, has a team-high seven home run and 35 RBI.
• Boston University has split time in the circle this season between Erin Schuppert, Holli Floetker and Whitney Tuthill. Floetker leads the team with ten wins this season while Schuppert trails just behind with nine. She ranks second in the America East with a team-low 1.51 earned run average and .209 opponent batting average.
SCOUTING THE RAMS:
• Fordham enters the week with a 31-17 record overall, and 12-4 record in the Atlantic 10. Before making the trip to Amherst, the Rams will host Iona on Tuesday and St. Peter's for a doubleheader on Wednesday.
• UMass leads the all-time series with Fordham, 41-4. The two-teams met five times last season with the Minutewomen taking four of the five matchups. The lone Fordham win came early in the Atlantic 10 Tournament before Massachusetts stormed back with two straight wins to take the conference title.
• Jocelyn Dearborn has provided the pop for the Rams in 2011 with a team-high .391 average, 13 home runs and 36 runs batted in. Dearborn leads the Atlantic 10 in hits (61), runs scored (34), triples (6) and total bases (122).
• 2010 First-Team All-American and Fordham ace Jen Mineau has a 15-7 record with a 1.69 earned run average with 192 strikeouts. She leads in the A-10 in saves with four while also holding her opponents to a .171 batting average.
SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:
• Massachusetts has never lost to La Salle, sporting a 33-0 record all-time. The Explorers own a 2-31 record this season with an 0-12 mark in the Atlantic 10.
• La Salle has yet to win on the road this season (0-9), and are led by Ali Shepard's .239 batting average. As a team, the Explorers are batting .192, while their opponents are hitting .332 against them.
HOME COOKIN':
• The Minutewomen have a 200-18-1 record, including 9-1 this season, at the UMass Softball Complex, which opened in 2000, for a .916 winning percentage.
• In the Atlantic 10, UMass dominates, holding a 105-5 (.955) regular season record at home. In the 13 A-10 Tournament games hosted in Amherst, 11 have gone in UMass' win column.
• UMass' offense explodes at home, as the Minutewomen boast a .290 batting average coming into the year at the UM Softball Complex, while holding their opponents to a .058 batting average.
• In 2010, UMass was 17-1, batting .309 at home and averaging 5.56 runs/game. The Minutewomen held the opposition to a .153 average and 1.39 runs/game.
• UMass had a 54-game regular season home winning streak that went from April 9, 2006 to May 3, 2009. In 2010, UMass is a perfect 13-0 at home this season.
PLOURDE-ING IT ON:
• Plourde struckout 30 Saint Bonaventure batters to reach 905 career punch outs two weeks ago. She is just the third UMass pitcher to ever reach 900 Ks, joining Danielle Henderson (1,343) and Brandice Balschmiter (1,218). Plourde is also the first of the three to reach the plateau in her junior season.
• The All-American has continued her dominating form in 2011, striking out 366 batters in 214 1/3 innings pitched. She has a 1.21 ERA and opponents are hitting just .138 against her.
• Plourde has yet to eclipse an earned run average above one in her last ten games (0.59 ERA), home games (0.31 ERA) or Atlantic 10 games (0.97 ERA)
• Plourde established herself as one of the nation's top pitchers in 2010, posting a 40-8 record with a 1.30 ERA.
• Plourde led the country in strikeouts in 2010 with 556, the highest single-season total in UMass history and ninth-highest in NCAA history. She broke Danielle Henderson's old mark of 465 by 91 Ks.
• Plourde also led the country in strikeouts per seven innings (12.5) and tied National Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie of Washington for the nation's lead in wins (40). She broke Brandice Balschmiter's UMass single-season wins record of 35.
• Plourde garnered countless honors in 2010, including NFCA All-American, NFCA All-Region, A-10 Pitcher of the Year, ECAC Pitcher of the Year, A-10 All-Conference, ECAC All-Star, A-10 All-Championship Team, and was named A-10 Pitcher of the Week six times.
MAGILL'S BAT COMES TO LIFE:
• Junior second baseman Kyllie Magill leads the team in both RBIs (19) and runs scored (20), while batting .299 on the season. She is also 7-of-8 in stolen base attempts.
• In the last ten games, Magill is batting .294 with 10 hits and four RBI. The Minutewomen are 9-1 in those games.
• Magill has also adjusted well to conference play, batting .376 (18-of-49) with six RBI and nine runs scored against A-10 foes.
• In four games at Temple and St. Joe's (3/26-27), Magill went 9-16 (.563) at the plate, driving in three runs. She led the team that weekend with 11 total bases, .688 slugging percentage and .588 on base percentage.
• Magill is a two-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second-Teamer at second base, batting over .300 as a freshman and a sophomore.
WEBSTER MAKES FIRST IMPRESSION:
• Freshman pitcher/outfielder Lindsey Webster has taken advantage of her early season opportunities. The Northridge, Calif. product has started the last 25 games and has vaulted to the highest batting average on the team with a .312 mark (24-77).
• Webster is tied for the team lead in home runs with four, ranks second in runs scored (19), and third in RBIs (15).
• She ignited a four-run inning against Saint Bonaventure with a two-run shot to left field in the 5th inning of game two two weeks ago.
• She blasted a dramatic two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game as UMass went on to win in extra innings at St. Joe's (3/27).
• Webster had her break-out performance on March 11 against Toledo in Tampa when she went 4-for-5 with a double, three runs scored, and one RBI. She hit .615 (8-13) with nine runs scored in five games at the USF Under Armour Showcase on Mar. 11-13.
• In the circle, Webster is 0-3 with a 3.85 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched. She held Tulsa to one run through eight innings in her collegiate debut before falling 3-1 in nine innings.
#1 IN A-10 PRESEASON POLL:
• UMass has been predicted to win the 2011 Atlantic 10 Championship in polling of the conference coaches. Head Coach Elaine Sortino's Minutewomen have won the last six A-10 titles, 15 of the last 16, and 22 overall. Fordham, the 2010 runner-up, was predicted second, and Charlotte came in third.
• Saint Joseph's was predicted fourth, followed by Saint Louis, Temple, Rhode Island, Dayton, St. Bonaventure, La Salle, and George Washington.
• The six-team, double-elimination A-10 Championship will be held May 11-14 at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte's 49ers Softball Diamond in Charlotte, N.C.
FACING THE NATION'S BEST:
• Massachusetts began the 2011 season with six of the team's first 10 games against nationally ranked opponents.
• In those six games, the Minutewomen have squared off four times against teams ranked in the top 11 or better. UMass dropped two games to No. 11 Michigan, 3-0 and 5-1 in the opening weekend at the FAU Kickoff Classic before dropping a 9-2 decision at the hands of No. 7 Washington and a 3-0 game to No. 11 Texas at the Cathedral City Classic on Feb. 25-27.
FOLLOW UMASS SOFTBALL:
• UMass Athletics offers several ways you can follow the Minutewomen. Your No. 1 source for information and news on the softball team is always UMassAthletics.com. Check in often for previews, recaps, news, box scores, and blog entries.
• You can now follow UMass softball on Facebook! Simply search UMass Softball and click the "Like" button to follow the Minutewomen and receive up-to-the-minute news.
• Follow UMass Athletics on Twitter at twitter.com/umassathletics. Receive the latest news on all UMass teams straight to your Twitter feed.
• All of the latest UMass videos: hightlights, interviews, features, etc., can be seen on UMass' YouTube channel. Just go to youtube.com/umassathletics.
