University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
George Washington
Salato Slugs UMass Past GW, 3-2, In Eight Innings
April 17, 2009 | Softball
April 17, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - The big bat of Samantha Salato came through again, belting a game winning home run with two outs in the eighth inning to give #21/17 UMass (26-6, 9-0 A-10) a 3-2 victory over George Washington (12-26, 3-10 A-10) on Friday afternoon at the UMass Softball Complex. Brandice Balschmiter struck out a school-record 19 batters, including a streak of nine-straight, to get the win in the circle. The Minutewomen and Colonials close their two-game series on Saturday at noon.
Balschmiter (19-4) turned in one of her most dominant performances, fanning 19 of the 27 batters she faced while walking none on the way to breaking Danielle Henderson's school record for strikeouts in a game. Henderson struck out 18 batters on three different occasions, all in seven inning games. The senior right-hander's previous high was 16, set on May 6, 2007 against La Salle.
The strikeout mark wasn't the only Henderson record that Balschmiter broke in the game. With eight innings pitched, Balschmiter has now pitched 971 innings in her career, breaking Henderson's UMass record of 964 2/3 innings.
Salato finished the day 3-for-4 with two home runs and a double. The senior leftfielder has homered four times in the last three games.
The win increases UMass' A-10 winning streak to 47 games and its regular season home winning streak to 49 games.
It was a pitcher's duel through the first three innings, with each side mustering just on hit, but the UMass bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth. Salato started off the inning by driving a ball to the opposite field, over the right field fence for her 11th home run of the season. Sarah Reeves made it back-to-back jacks by hitting a high blast over the left field fence for her eighth home run of the season, making it 2-0.
The Colonials answered in the top of the fifth. Amanda Gabriel reached with one out on a bunt single leading to Ali Waterman' two-run home run down the right field line, tying the game, 2-2. The runs were the first surrendered at home this season by Balschmiter.
After giving up just the third home run hit off her this season, Balschmiter turned it on, striking out the next nine batters and retiring the final 11 she faced.
After two outs to start the UMass half of the eighth, Salato hammered Gabriel's (7-14) 2-2 offering into the bleachers in center field for her team-leading 12 home run of the season and improve the Minutewomen to 3-0 in extra inning games this season. Salato is now three homers shy of Stacy Cullington's single-season school record of 15 set in 2007.
The game was UMass' first extra inning game at home since beating Lehigh, 6-4, in 10 innings on May 20, 2006 in the NCAA Regionals.
Carly Normandin singled to right field in the fifth inning to up her hitting streak to 18 games.
