University of Massachusets Athletics
Weekly Notes
May 09, 2000 | Softball
May 9, 2000
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Minutewomen captured their six consecutive and 13th overall Atlantic 10 title this past weekend, after defeating Rhode Island, 13-0 and 8-0 on Saturday. UMass also battled intra-state rivals Boston College and Brown last week on May 2 and 4, respectively. The Minutewomen downed the Eagles, 5-1 and 6-1, and went on to sweep the Bears, 6-1 and 9-1. UMass improves to 32-20 this season with the victories and 13-3 in the Atlantic 10. The Minutewomen have now posted 30 or more wins in 14 of the last 15 seasons.
FAESSLER SHINES ON SENIOR DAY: Senior Nikki Faessler (Milford, Mass.) was instrumental in UMass' two victories over the Rams on Saturday, which earned the Minutewomen their 13th Atlantic 10 title. Faessler went a perfect 4-for-4 on the day with seven RBI, two doubles and a home run to lead the Minutewomen. Her two-run homer in the second game won the contest for UMass. For the week, she batted .471 (8-for-17) with eight RBI, seven runs scored, two doubles and two home runs, which garnered her the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honor. She also moved up to eighth on the UMass all-time list in doubles with 28 career doubles, and is tied for second in home runs with sophomore Cherra "Scooter" Wheeler (Kingsburg, Calif.) with 11 career home runs.
CROSS BREAKS SINGLE-SEASON HOME RUN RECORD: Freshman Brandi Cross (Diamond Bar, Calif.) broke the UMass single-season home run record versus Rhode Island, after pounding out her ninth homer of the year in the second game of the doubleheader with the Rams. Cross replaces former Minutewoman Sherri Kuchinskas, who recorded eight home runs during the 1993 campaign. She went 2-for-5 with three RBI versus Rhode Island.
FIELD SET FOR 2000 BELL ATLANTIC/ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP: UMass will once again enter into this weekend's Atlantic 10 Championship as the No. 1 seed, and will face the No. 4 seed Temple in its first game on May 11 at noon. Virginia Tech is seeded No. 2, while Dayton rounds out the top four as the No. 3 seed. The Minutewomen won last season's conference championship with a 2-0 decision over Virginia Tech in the finals. Current Minutewomen Nikki Faessler and junior Kiley Scofield (Murietta, Calif.) were named to the All-Tournament Team.
SCOUTING THE OWLS: Temple will head into this weekend as the No. 4 seed at 19-29 overall and 8-6 in Atlantic 10 action. The Owls are led by Katie Spencer at the plate, who is batting .292 with 14 runs scored. On the mound, Bari Lynn Pflueger is posting a 1.75 ERA. UMass swept Temple in the previous meetings this season on April 16 in Amherst, 9-1, 1-0. The Minutewomen are ahead in the series versus the Owls, 43-11.
SCOUTING THE FLYERS: Dayton will enter into this weekend's championship as the No. 3 seed at 34-21-1 overall and 10-4 in the conference. The Flyers are led by Tanya Leet at the plate, who is batting .397 with 34 RBI, 17 doubles and nine home runs. The Minutewomen split with Dayton in their previous meetings on April 30 in Amherst, dropping the first game, 1-3 and winning the second, 2-0. UMass leads the series with the Flyers, 5-2.
SCOUTING THE HOKIES: Virginia Tech will own the No. 2 seed this weekend at 39-20 overall and 12-4 in the Atlantic 10. The Hokies are led by Michelle Meadows, who is batting .330 with 35 RBI and 11 doubles. Ashlee Dobbe is pacing the squad on the mound with a 1.22 ERA and 17-9 record. The Minutewomen split with Virginia Tech in the previous meetings this season in Blacksburg, winning the first contest, 7-5 and dropping the second game, 1-3. UMass is ahead in the all-time series with the Hokies, 12-1.
HEAD COACH ELAINE SORTINO CLOSING IN ON 1,000TH CAREER GAME: Elaine Sortino, who is in her 21st season at the helm of the UMass softball program, is just one game shy of coaching her 1,000th career game. In her tenure as UMass head coach, she has amassed a 685-311-3 record and led UMass onto the national stage. She has led the Minutewomen to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, 13 Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles and three Women's College World Series trips (1992, 1997 and 1998). The five time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, Sortino has been named the Northeast Regional Coach of the Year, four times. In the last two seasons, Sortino has led the Minutewomen to back-to-back 40-win seasons for the first time in school history. In 1998, UMass won a school record 45 games, while in 1999 they earned 43 victories. Last fall, Sortino was inducted into the Oneonta State Athletic Hall of Fame.