UMass Named A Team To Watch For In 2009 On ESPN.com
John Stratton first noticed Whitney Mollica from afar, not that he saw her right away. Stratton had parked his car at Florida Atlantic University on St. Patrick's Day, 2006. He got out. And he had to duck. "A ball almost hit my car," Stratton remembered. "I wasn't just behind the fence, either. I was 50, 60 feet away from the fence." The obvious question went through the Stratford Brakettes manager's mind: "Oh my God, who hit that?"
ECAC Release
The post-season honors keep rolling in for UMass softball as four Minutewomen were honored when the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference released its 2008 Division I All-Star teams on Wednesday. Junior Brandice Balschmiter was named Pitcher of the Year and a first team All-Star, both for the second-straight season. Designated player Lindsay Maroney was named the ECAC's Rookie of the Year and a second team All-Star. Junior Whitney Mollica joins Balschmiter as a first team All-Star, garnering the honor at third base, while sophomore Carly Normandin was named to the second team outfield.
Softball junior pitcher Brandice Balschmiter (Newark, N.Y.) was named an Easton Second-Team All-American on Tuesday. She has now earned All-America honors in each of her three seasons at UMass and she becomes the only player in program history to have earned three Easton All-America honors. Balschmiter turned in her best season to date posting a 31-8 record, a 0.66 earned run average, 18 shutouts, and 309 strikeouts in 267 innings of work. She held opponents to a .150 batting average, allowing just two home runs on the year. She threw five no-hitters including two perfect games, which ranks her one short of tying the UMass all-time record for perfect games. (more)
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After a thrilling 2-1 win to force a game seven in the NCAA Softball Amherst Regional final, the 20th-ranked Massachusetts softball fell to eighth-ranked Stanford 6-0 in the second final game on Sunday. The Cardinal used a three-run top of the first inning and tough defense to move onto the NCAA Super Regional. UMass couldn't manage any offense in the game as Stanford pitcher Missy Penna tossed her second no-hitter of the season. The Minutewomen complete their tremendous season with a 42-13 record, their seventh 40-win season in school history.
The 20th-ranked Massachusetts softball team keeps it post-season alive with a 2-1 win over No. 8 Stanford at the NCAA Softball Amherst Regional on Sunday. UMass pitcher Brandice Balschmiter gave up just one run on six hits with six strikeouts as the Minutewomen are the first team to score on Stanford in the entire regional. The two teams will turn around and play the final game at 2:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals.
Tournament Central | Free Live Video (Regional Final) | GameTracker
Lindsay Maroney's two-out RBI single in the fourth inning and Sarah Reeves' two-run home run in the sixth led UMass to a 3-1 victory over Lehigh on Saturday afternoon to send the Minutewomen to the finals of the NCAA Softball Amherst Regional. Brandice Balschmiter was dominate in the circle, pitching 5 1/3 one-hit shutout innings before being injured throwing a pitch in the sixth inning. Alisha Gonzales drove in a run for the Mountain Hawks in the bottom of the seventh on a groundout, but Bailey Sanders was able to end the threat to earn her second career save. UMass will face Stanford in the finals on Sunday with first pitch slated for noon at the UMass Softball Complex.
6/12 - 2008 Softball Highlights
