March 11, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

Clearwater, Fla. - The #21/14 UMass softball team plays its final tournament before conference play begins when it heads to Clearwater, Fla. for the USF Under Armour Showcase on March 13-15. Elaine Sortino's club opens the weekend on Friday with a 1 p.m. game vs. Central Michigan, followed by a 6 p.m. match-up with host South Florida. On Saturday, UMass plays Loyola Marymount at 11 a.m., immediately followed by a game with Jacksonville at 1 p.m. The Minutewomen close out the tournament on Sunday with a 10 a.m. tilt against Florida Gulf Coast.

This is the second year in a row that UMass will be playing in the USF Under Armour Showcase and the third time overall that it has played a tournament in Clearwater (2006). The Minutewomen are 10-4 in those games.

Elaine Sortino's Minutewomen opened the season 4-1 at the FAU Kickoff Classic (Feb. 6-8), including a 1-0 win over #5 Michigan, for the program's best start in 22 years. The Minutewomen started the 1987 season 5-0. On Feb. 20-22, UMass went 2-3 at the Cathedral City Classic, including a 1-0 win over defending national champion Arizona State. UMass played four out of the top 10 ranked teams in the country in California. On Feb. 27-28, UMass went 2-0 at the rain-shortened NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., including a 2-0 win over #13 DePaul.

BROADCAST INFO
• Audio of all five of UMass' games will be available on UMassAthletics.com via Sportsjuice.com. Live stats will also be available at UMassAthletics.com. Both come free of charge.

MINUTEWOMEN PERFECT IN RAINY GEORGIA
• Although rain wrecked most of the weekend, the Minutewomen managed to get in two games on Friday in Columbus, Ga. at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. UMass went 2-0, shutting out Nebraska, 3-0, and #13 DePaul, 2-0.
• Against Nebraska, Brandice Balschmiter struck out six batters and scattered four hits while Carly Normandin went 3-for-3 with two-run homer for a 3-0 win over Nebraska. Salato brought in the game winning run with a single to center that scored Whitney Williams.
• Taking on #13 DePaul, Balschmiter was untouchable into the seventh inning. With two outs, Annie Demas singled to second, spoiling Balschmiter's no-hitter. The senior hurler pitched the Minutewomen to a 2-0 victory over #13 DePaul. Salato drove in the first and game winning run for the second game in a row with another single to center field.

MINUTEWOMEN CLIMB IN RANKINGS
• The Minutewomen find themselves ranked #21 in the USA Today/NFCA Poll this week. UMass has ranked as high as tied for 19th (3/3) following the 2-0 weekend in Columbus, Ga. UMass broke into the rankings on Feb. 10 in the #22 spot.
• UMass held steady in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, ranking 14th this week. The Minutewomen opened the season ranked #24 and rose to #14 last week after the NFCA Leadoff Classic.
• UltimateCollegeSoftball.com has UMass ranked #18 this week.

KEEPING THE STEAK ALIVE AGAINST CMU
• UMass leads the all-time series against the Chippewas 4-1. After losing the first meeting, Coach Sortino and the Minutewomen have gone 4-0 since 1998. The last time the Minutewomen faced the Chippewas, on March 12, 2005, UMass came from behind to knock off Central Michigan and advance to the semifinals of the Speedline Invitational. The Minutewomen trailed 1-0, but a two-run home run by Denise Denis gave the club the lead. Central Michigan would come back to tie the game and then again to take the lead, but UMass finished the Chippewas off in the sixth inning. Current Assistant Coach Kristi Stefanoni started off the charge by getting hit by a pitch.
• Central Michigan finished the year 14-7 in the MAC for a first place finish in the West division, but lost two straight in the Mid-American Conference tournament. Tracy Kaatz led the team with a .360 batting average and 13 RBI.
• This year, Central Michigan has had its ups and downs, holding a record of 4-8. Senior outfielder Kaatz continues to lead the team, starting 10 games and maintaining a .351 batting average, striking out only twice all season. In the circle, senior Ali Pettit has the most starts with seven, maintaining a 1.33 ERA and tallying 38 strikeouts and two shutouts.
• Sophomore infielder Brittini Merchant is the sister of UMass assistant coach Jessica Merchant.

BULLING OVER SOUTH FLORIDA
• UMass and South Florida are tied at five wins apiece in the all-time series. Last year, the Minutewomen faced the Bulls twice just before conference play, splitting the day. Brandice Balschmiter led the Minutewomen to a 2-0 win in the first game, giving up just three hits while striking out a then season-high 11 batters for her third shutout of the season. Third baseman Whitney Mollica went 1-for-2 in that game with a run scored and a walk. In game two, the Bulls took advantage of a solo home run by Kendall Arnold in the bottom of the sixth to edge the Minutewomen 2--1. Sanders pitched six innings, giving up six hits, striking out two and walking two.
• The Bulls are 19-10 on the season, led by senior second baseman Britta Giddens. Posting a .403 batting average with 29 hits and 19 RBI, Giddens also leads the team in slugging percentage with a .625 mark. In the circle, the Bulls have an extremely balanced attack, with five pitchers starting five games or more. Bree Spence leads the team with a 1.36 ERA, adding 22 strikeouts and only 10 walks in three wins and one loss. Brittany Bowles has the most wins with five, posting a 2.56 ERA and 44 strikeouts.

MEETING LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• This is the first ever meeting between the Loyola Marymount Lions and the Massachusetts Minutewomen. The Lions are members of the Pacific Coast Softball Conference. The only team UMass has ever played in that Conference is Sacramento State, who the Minutewomen beat 2-1 in 2006.
• LMU holds a 9-11 record coming into this weekend. Leading the Lions at the plate is senior Chelsie Tysadal, who maintains a .357 batting average with 20 hits, 13 RBI, and four home runs.
• In the circle, time is split between freshman Corie Goodman and junior Melissa Dykema. Goodman has nine starts with six wins and seven complete games. She leads the pair with a 3.34 ERA and 48 strikeouts. Dykema posts a 4.40 ERA with 27 strikeouts and three wins in 11 starts and only two complete games.

SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE
• UMass leads Jacksonville 2-1 in the all-time series, winning the last two games. On March 10, 2007, the Minutewomen defeated the Dolphins at the FAU "Kickoff" Classic by a score of 5-3. Whitney Williams went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the outing. Brandice Balschmiter pitched a complete game allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. She fanned five batters.
• Jacksonville is 9-12 on the year. In the pitching circle, freshman Sarah Sigrest and junior Ashley Iveson are the Dolphins most consistent starters. Sigrest maintains a 2.54 ERA in 15 appearances. She has fanned 63 batters and shut out three teams. Iveson holds a record of 2-5 with nine starts and 11 appearances. Striking out 28 on the season, Iveson also has a shutout.
• Sophomore second baseman Katie Kelly has been the most reliable bat for the Dolphins this season. Kelly hits .406 with seven doubles and 11 RBI. She boasted a nine game hitting streak from Feb. 14-March 1.

STOPPING THE STREAKING EAGLES
• This is the first meeting between Florida Gulf Coast University and UMass. The Minutewomen are 2-2 against the Atlantic Sun Conference.
• FGCU comes into the weekend on a 17-game win streak that started Feb. 21 against #13 DePaul. Overall, the Eagles are 24-4 on the season. Third baseman Cheyenne Jenks maintains a .513 batting average, smashing 13 home runs and bringing in 41 runners for a 1.132.
• In the circle, junior pitcher Catherine McDaniel is undefeated, perfect in her 11 starts. She has shut out three teams and maintains a 1.88 ERA. McDaniel has sat down 66 batters in 63.1 innings. Senior Dana Frantz also starts for the Eagles, compiling a record of 8-1 with a 4.20 ERA. Frantz has struck out 39, keeping opponents to a .281 average.

UMASS DUO HONORED BY ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE
• A pair of UMass softball players were honored by the Atlantic 10 Conference on March 3 for their contributions to a 2-0 weekend for the Minutewomen at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Colmbus, Ga. Brandice Balschmiter was named Pitcher of the Week, while Carly Normandin was named Player of the Week.
• Balschmiter earned shutout victories in both UMass contests (3-0 vs. Nebraska, 2-0 vs. DePaul), including coming one out away from her eighth career no-hitter against the Blue Demons. She has won the last 10 A-10 Pitcher of the Week awards, dating back to last season, and 22 in her career.
• Normandin won her first A-10 Player of the Week by being successful in every plate appearance vs. Nebraska and DePaul, going 4-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI, a walk, and a sacrifice bunt. Normandin also made an impressive diving catch in center field in the third inning vs. DePaul to keep Balschmiter's no-hit bid alive.

BALSCHMITER SENDS BATTERS BACK TO DUGOUT
• Senior hurler Brandice Balschmiter earned her 22nd Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week for her outstanding effort at the NFCA Leadoff Classic two weekends ago. At the tournament, Balschmiter was virtually unhittable all weekend, shutting out Nebraska, 3-0, and #13 DePaul, 2-0. On the weekend, she allowed just five hits, while striking out 13 and walking three. Against DePaul, a team coming into the came batting .342, Balschmiter had a no-hitter through 6.2 innings before allowing an infield single with two outs in the seventh. The senior hurler is now 7-2 on the year with 99 wins overall in her career. This season, she has beaten three ranked opponents (#8 Michigan, #3 Arizona State, #13 DePaul).
• Overall, Balschmiter ranks second at UMass in appearances (145), innings pitched (876.2), wins (99), complete games (112), shutouts (52), and strikeouts (927). Realistically, she can pass Olympian Danielle Henderson in four of those categories. Balschmiter needs 16 appearances, 88 innings (about 12.5 games), 9 wins, and 19 complete games to pass the UMass legend. Balschmiter also ranks third all-time at UMass in ERA with 1.03 (leader maintained a 0.70) and stands at sixth in walks per outing with 1.53.
• In 2008, Balschmiter ranked fifth in the nation in hits allowed per seven innings with 3.64 hits per seven innings pitched. The leader of this category, Angela Tincher of Virginia Tech, allowed only 2.65 per game. Balschmiter fell just below UCLA's Anjelica Selden (3.56), who the Minutewomen scored one run against.
• With 31 wins last season, Balschmiter tied for 11th in the NCAA in victories during the 2008 campaign. Of the top 10, the Minutewomen faced Morgan Melloh of Fresno State (42), Missy Pena of Stanford (37), and Becca Heteniak of DePaul (33) in 2008. Balschmiter's ERA of 0.66 was second in the nation to only Tincher's 0.63.

SALATO COMFORTABLE ANYWHERE IN OUTFIELD
• Senior Samantha Salato started the last two seasons in right field, but makes the switch to left field this season. In Columbus, Salato had the game winning RBI with a single to send in Whitney Williams who walked in her at bat. She finished 3-for-5 on the weekend with a double against DePaul.
• Salato also leads the teams in home runs with three. She hit those three in back-to-back-to-back games against #9 Tennessee, #6 UCLA, and #8 Oklahoma. She boasts a team-leading .618 slugging percentage. Salato has had the most opportunities to come up big with runners in scoring position with 13. She has produced a hit five times, giving her a .385 average with runners on second and/or third.
• During her 2008 campaign, Salato recorded career highs in multiple categories. The outfielder set personal bests in hits (43), RBI (32), homeruns (7), and runs scored (32). Of her 32 RBI, 12 came with two outs.

MOLLICA MAKING AN IMPACT
• A first team ECAC All-Star, second team NFCA All-Northeast Region honoree, and first team Atlantic 10 All-Conference player, Whitney Mollica is looking to lead the Minutewomen further than they have ever traveled in postseason play. The senior captain has been extremely successful advancing runners this season. She is 8-for-19 with a .421 success rate. She was 7-for-15 with a double, grand slam and five RBI at the FAU "Kick-Off" Classic.
• Currently, Mollica is near the top of the charts in many UMass career batting records. In the RBI category, she stands tied for fifth, needing 24 to break the record. Mollica ranks fifth in home runs (23), fifth in slugging percentage (.552), tenth in batting average (.339), and 11th in extra-base hits (59). Always doing what is best for the team, Mollica also ranks tied for third in sacrifices with 50.
• In 2006, Mollica became the first player in Atlantic 10 history to earn Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season. As a freshman, she broke the A-10 RBI with 61. Also as a rookie, she ranked seventh in the nation in RBI per game (1.07), 20th in slugging percentage and 30th in doubles per game (0.30).

NORMANDIN LEADS ON OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
• Center fielder Carly Normandin earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after going a perfect 4-for-4 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, including two home runs with two sacrifice bunts and a walk. Normy drove in three of the five total runs scored on the weekend to lead the squad to a pair of wins. She is not batting .308 on the season and leads the club with 12 hits.
• The center fielder got her season off to a great start at the FAU Kickoff Classic, hitting .353 (6-17) with a double and five runs scored.
• Not just a threat at the plate, Normandin's defense has proven it can alter games as well. Her diving catch during the third inning vs. DePaul kept Balschmiter's no-hit bid alive. Her catch of a low liner in the bottom of the sixth with two runners on base ended a Michigan threat and helped lead the Minutewomen to a 1-0 victory over the fifth-ranked Wolverines.
• Junior centerfielder Carly Normandin burst on the scene last season and established herself as a game-changer on offense and defense. After seeing just 25 at-bats as a freshman, the Gardner, Mass. native won the starting job in centerfield as a sophomore and posted a .324 batting average, 14 doubles, six home runs, 36 RBI, and a .592 slugging pct (1st on team).

SERIO EMBRACES ROLE AS FIELD GENERAL
• Junior catcher Jess Serio got her 2009 season off to the right start in the season-opener, blasting her first career home run to leadoff the second inning vs. Maryland (2/6).
• Serio is coming off a breakout season in 2008. An Atlantic 10 All-Conference second teamer, the field general led the team with a .365 batting average. She also had the most success in advancing runners with a .561 success rate. In 98 chances, she moved the runner over 55 times. The heart of the lineup, Serio also bats .358 with runners in scoring position.
• Serio also leads the team from behind the plate. Starting all 55 games last year and all 12 games this season at catcher, she handles the entire pitching staff well. Serio has also picked off nine runners on 23 stolen base attempts (39 percent).

SORTINO ASCENDS ACTIVE WIN LIST
• Head Coach Elaine Sortino currently ranks number seven on the most active wins list (1,025) and number 11 on the highest active winning percentage list (.701). In 2008, she earned her 1,000th win on April 13 against the Temple Owls and went on to finish the season with 1,017 total wins. With only 435 losses and five ties, Sortino holds a .701 career winning percentage.
• Coach Sortino will face Head Coach Margo Jonker of Central Michigan this weekend. Coach Jonker came into the season at the ninth spot in most active wins with 968. With three wins and seven loses thus far in 2009, she currently holds a record of 971-556-5.

LIBBY FINDING HER STRIDE
• Junior infielder Michelle Libby has had an outstanding 2009 season thus far. She leads the team in batting average (.417), going 10-for-24 with six RBI, four doubles, and four walks. Libby maintains a .583 slugging percentage and has stolen two bases. She has the most success advancing runners this season, going 10-for-15 for a .667 average. In the win over DePaul, Libby helped the team with two sacrifice bunts, one of which led to Whitney Williams scoring the game winning run.
• At Cathedral City, Libby went 5-for-12 with two runs scored and four RBI. Her most impressive game came in the 4-2 loss to #6/6 UCLA, where she hit .667 with an RBI.
• Libby came into 2009 with one career hit, but started 2009 with a breakout performance at the FAU Kickoff Classic. Starting one game at third base and two at designated player, she hit .625 (5-8) with three doubles, two RBI, and a 1.000 slugging percentage.
• Libby's best performance came in her first start of the season, vs. Long Island (2/7), going 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, and a run scored.

ROOKIE MAGILL STEPS INTO ROLE
• Freshman Kyllie Magill has made an immediate impact with the Minutewomen this season. Stepping in at second base, Magill has started all 11 games she has played in. Batting .259, Magill has brought home five runners this season.
• In the win over DePaul, Magill went 1-for-2 with a sacrifice bunt. She drove in the winning run in a 1-0 victory over national champion Arizona State the previous weekend. Also in Cathedral City, she hit a bases loaded triple in a 2-for-4, four-RBI performance vs. NC State.

UMASS BEATS THE NATIONAL CHAMPS IN CALIFORNIA
• UMass played their second tournament of the season in Cathedral City, Calif., starting the weekend off with a 14-0 romp of NC State. That was followed by a 6-1 loss to the #9/10 Lady Vols of Tennessee. On day two, the Minutewomen fell to #6/6 UCLA by a score of 4-2. The Minutewomen opened the last day of the tournament with a 5-3 loss to Oklahoma, yet closed the day with a 1-0 upset over defending national champ and #3/7 Arizona State.
• Against #3/7 Arizona State, Brandice Balschmiter was dominate in the circle against the defending national champions, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning before allowing two singles. Davina Hernandez delievered a one-out double to left that allowed freshman Kyllie Magill to step up and deliver with a single that brought the senior home for the game's only run in a 1-0 UMass win.

BALSCHMITER WATCHED BY NATION
• The Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) named senior pitcher Brandice Balschmiter to its initial "Watch List" for the 8th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award.
• This is the third year in a row that Balschmiter has been named to the preseason watch list of 50.
• On April 1, a list of 25 finalists for the award will be released by the ASA.

UMASS TABBED TO WIN A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP
• The Minutewomen were selected to win the 2009 Atlantic 10 Softball Championship after capturing four consecutive titles and going undefeated in Atlantic 10 play in the last two seasons.
• UMass enters the 2009 season with a 38-0 A-10 regular season record. The Minutewomen's last loss in league play was to St. Bonaventure, 5-3, on May 5, 2006. This season, the Minutewomen are looking for their 14th league crown in the last 15 years.

MINUTEWOMEN FACE TOUGH SCHEDULE
• The Minutewomen always play a challenging schedule against the nation's best and this season is no different. UMass will play 10 NCAA Tournament teams from last season, highlighted by national champion Arizona State, as well as perennial powers Alabama, UCLA, Michigan, and Oklahoma.
• Seven ranked teams from the 2009 NFCA preseason poll can be found on UMass' schedule (Arizona State, Alabama, UCLA, Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Georgia). • Five out of the top six teams in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Poll can be found on UMass' schedule (#2 Alabama, #3 Arizona State, #4 UCLA, #5 Michigan, and #6 Oklahoma).
• UMass plays three out of the eight Women's College World Series teams from a season ago (Arizona State, Alabama, and UCLA).