University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Hosts Three, Travels To URI Saturday
May 03, 2011 | Softball
May 3, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. -
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SOFTBALL HOSTS THREE, HEADS TO URI SATURDAY
The UMass softball team (25-17, 12-5 A-10) will conclude its 12-game homestand on Wednesday when the Minutewomen host Boston College in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. at the UMass Softball Complex. From there, Massachusetts will hit the road for the first time since April 20 for a twinbill with Rhode Island on Saturday, starting at 12 p.m. The Minutewomen will return home for a Sunday matinee with Quinnipiac at 1 p.m. on Senior Day at the UMass Softball Complex.
• Sunday's game will be televised live on CBS 3 Now, while Wednesday's games, 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. Saturday's road games will be broadcasted live on SportsJuice.
• Junior pitcher Sara Plourde became the third pitcher in program history to reach 1,000 Ks against Boston University last Wednesday. Earlier in the season she became 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 1,125 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 (1,125-467-6).
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
• After splitting four league games last week, the Minutewomen (12-5) dipped to third place in the Atlantic 10 standings with a .706 winning percentage, Fordham (16-4) and Saint Joseph's (10-4).
MINUTEWOMEN GO 3-2 LAST WEEK
• Sara Plourde struck out 14 batters to eclipse the 1,000-strikeout mark for her career and Cyndil Matthew scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh after Boston University tied the game in the top of the inning to give the Minutewomen a 3-2 victory over the Terriers on Wednesday afternoon at the UMass Softball Complex. Plourde became the third pitcher in program history to reach the plateau and the first to do it prior to her senior season. The Minutewomen led 2-0 thanks to third-inning RBI single by Kyllie Magill and a fifth-inning solo home run by Jordan Storro, but Erica Casacci led off the seventh inning with a single for BU and April Setterlund followed with a home run to right-center on the first pitch to tie the game.
• Fordham returned to the UMass Softball Complex for the first time since last season's Atlantic 10 Championships, and Chelsea Palumbo drove in five runs with a two-run single and a three-run home run to lead the Rams over UMass, 6-0. It was a pitching duel between Sara Plourde and Jen Mineau until the Rams took advantage of two UMass errors to plate three runs in the fourth and added three more in the sixth on Palumbo's homer. Cyndil Matthew went 2-for-2, accounting for both UMass hits. Both starting pitchers started the game on fire, retiring the first eight batters for both sides. Plourde (21-12) struck out seven of the first eight batters before allowing her first baserunner with a walk two-out walk in the third. She finished with 12 strikeouts and allowed three earned runs on six hits and three walks.
• The Rams successfully completed a sweep of the Minutewomen on Saturday as Jen Mineau struck out 12 in a four-hit shutout performance to lead Fordham to a 4-0 victory over UMass. The Rams took advantage of a UMass error in a three-run fourth inning and Jocelyn Dearborn added a solo home run in the fifth to give them the two-game sweep. Cyndil Matthew went 2-for-3 for the Minutewomen.
• UMass responded with a sweep of La Salle on Sunday when Sara Plourde retired all 18 batters she faced to record the 12th perfect game in program history in a 8-0 six-inning victory in game two after striking out 18 in a 9-2 win in game one to give UMass softball (25-17, 12-5 A-10) a doubleheader sweep over La Salle (4-37, 1-15 A-10). It was the first solo perfect game of the junior's career and her 10th overall no-hitter, third this season. Lindsey Webster homered in each game of the twinbill, while Meghan Carta added a round-tripper of her own and Cyndil Matthew continued her hot streak, combining to go 5-for-6.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES:
• Boston College (14-30, 5-13 ACC) are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of No. 20 Georgia Tech last weekend. The Minutewomen and the Eagles were scheduled to meet earlier this season in Chestnut Hill, Mass., but the game was rained out and moved to Amherst as part of a doubleheader.
• The Minutewomen are 44-4 all-time against Boston College, and have won the last 13 games against the Eagles dating back to the 2004 season. UMass won both games against Boston College with scores of 6-0 and 3-1 last season.
SCOUTING THE RAMS:
• Rhode Island enters the week with a 7-44 record overall, and 2-17 record in the Atlantic 10. The Minutewomen lead the all-time series with the Rams, 82-13.
• Last season against Rhode Island, UMass hosted the Rams in a twinbill that saw the Minutewomen coast to a 9-2 victory before completing the sweep with a 3-1 win.
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS:
• Massachusetts has never lost to Quinnipiac, sporting a 5-0 record all-time. The Bobcats own a 29-24 record this season with a 13-7 mark in the NEC.
• UMass shutout the Bobcats 6-0 last season, which saw Sara Plourde throw a shutout.
HOME COOKIN'
• The Minutewomen have a 203-20-1 record, including 12-3 this season, at the UMass Softball Complex, which opened in 2000, for a .913 winning percentage.
• In the Atlantic 10, UMass dominates, holding a 107-7 (.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
• Last week's Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week and UMass Athlete of the Week, Sara Plourde (Bristol, Conn.) became the third pitcher in program history to reach 1,000 Ks against Boston University last Wednesday
• 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 421 batters in 248 1/3 innings pitched. She has a 1.32 ERA and opponents are hitting just .139 against her. Going into the week, she ranks second in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (12.2) and total strikeouts.
• 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 (24) and runs scored (22), while batting .319 on the season. She is also 9-of-10 in stolen base attempts.
• In the last ten games, Magill is batting .433 with 13 hits and six RBI. The Minutewomen are 7-3 in those games.
• Magill has also adjusted well to conference play, batting .367 (22-of-60) with ten RBI and 11 runs scored against A-10 foes.
• She drove in the winning run in the eighth inning with an infield single on April 24 vs. GW.
• 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 30 games and has vaulted to the third-highest batting average on the team with a .297 mark (27-91).
• Webster leads the team in home runs with six after basting one in each game against La Salle last weekend, is tied for the team lead in runs scored (22), and second in RBIs (20).
• 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.
CYNDIL'S ON A TEAR
• Cyndil Matthew has vaulted up to the highest team batting average (.319) with 38 hits in 119 at bats. She is tied for the team lead in triples with two
• Over the last ten games, Matthew is batting .481 (13-for-27) with three extra base hits, 18 total bases and a .667 slugging percentage.
#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.
SORTINO HONORED FOR 1,100TH WIN
• UMass Softball Head Coach Elaine Sortino was honored on Dec. 9 at the Easton Victory Club Luncheon at the 2010 NFCA National Convention at the San Diego Marriott & Marina in San Diego, Calif. The 31-year head coach of the Minutewomen achieved her 1,100th victory in the Atlantic 10 Championship last season and was one of several coaches to be recognized for reaching milestone victories.
• Sortino entered her 32nd season in 2011 with a career record of 1,100-451-6. She ranks fifth among active NCAA Div. I coaches in career victories.
• Sortino achieved her 1,100th win in dramatic fashion as it came in UMass' 8-3 victory over Fordham to win the 2010 A-10 Championship on May 15.
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.
