UMass softball loses; Season likely over

In the resumption of last night's rain suspended, Saint Joseph's scored four time in the top of the ninth and beat UMass, 6-2.

The loss likely ends the season for the Minutewomen, whose RPI was 60 heading into the tournament. They'd need a lot of favor from the selection committee to get into the tournament. But more likely their season is over.

UMass will return several key players next year, most notably, pitcher Sara Plourde.

Rainouts

You might want to sit down for this shocking news:

Baseball and softball are both rained out today. Anyone with access to a window probably could have guessed this, but I'm confirming. No diamond sports today.

Feel free to use this time to catch up on DVRed episodes of Chicago Code or Parenthood.

Softball rained out

UMass' softball game today against UConn has been rained out. This eliminates the possibility that the Huskies would be exhausted after hoop celebration in Storrs.

In case you were wondering, Sara Plourde can still pitch

There's a good reason I don't publish everything I hear. Somebody told me the other day that they heard the Sara Plourde wasn't and would never be the same after her hip surgery last year.

Well I'm not a doctor, but I'm assuming her 15 strikeouts and one hit allowed in the season opening 10-0 mercy-rule shortened six-inning win over Penn State, means that Sara Plourde can still pitch.

UMass a softball sleeper?

UMass a Regional sleeper?

Graham Hays thinks its possible...

To stir up the first two weekends: Massachusetts 
The Amherst Regional is fast becoming as much a spring tradition in
Massachusetts as Patriots Day and David Ortiz's abysmal starts. Four
years ago, it sent the home team to a super regional. A year ago,
Lawrie and UMass' Brandice Balschmiter dueled deep into the night in an
elimination game. And with sophomore Sara Plourde taking over for
Balschmiter, and leading the nation in strikeouts, perhaps drama is
again in order. 

Arizona State was surprisingly good on the road in the Pac-10, but the Sun
Devils played just 14 games away from home all season. Sun Devils
shortstop Katelyn Boyd will be the best player in Amherst, but
Massachusetts senior Sarah Reeves has been hitting as well as anyone in
the country over the last few weeks. Win at home, and a likely trip to
Florida offers another daunting challenge. But at the very least, the
Gators have looked at least more mortal down the stretch than they ever
did last season.

NCAAs in Amherst again - UMass hosting Friday through Sunday.

UMass is hosting a four-team NCAA Softball Region again. No. 13 overall seed Arizona State is the No. 1 seed in the region.

UMass will face Long Island and Arizona State will face Boston University in the double elimination even that starts Friday.

Temporary lights will be brought in again.

Times are TBA. But I'm predicting night games. If UMass is paying for lights, its going to want to use them.

This is actually an easier looking regional than last year as ASU is the No. 13 and Washington was No. 3.

"There's no easy draw in the national tournament, but this is something we can handle," said  UMass coach Elaine Sortino whose team is hosting for the fifth straight year. "There's no better opportunity than to be playing at home. Obviously we're comfortable here and its a tremendous opportunity for us to be able to stay here."

Sarah Reeves agreed.
"We're excited to be hosting. We're excited about the competition that's coming and we can't wait until Friday," Reeves said. "It's always a bit of an advantage having your home crowd there and not having to travel across the country."

UMass wins second game 8-3 to capture its sixth straight A-10 Title

UMass avenged Friday's loss to Fordham with two dominant outings to win the conference tournament.

Sarah Reeves was the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. She went 8-for-15 with five home runs and 10 RBIs, both records for the tournament.

UMass wins 3-0, force the all-or-nothing if game.

Behind a shutout by the rejuvinated Sara Plourde, the Minutewomen controlled the game throughout.

UMass  scored one in the third and twice in the fifth. Sarah Reeves has two more RBIs to break te A-10 Tournament record with nine.

Game two is starting in just under 30 minutes.

Fordham upset UMass, 7-5

Instead of the expected pitchers' duel, the Atlantic 10 Tournament game between UMass and Fordham turned into a home run fest as the teams combined for six long balls in the Rams' 7-5 upset of the Minutewomen at the UMass softball complex.

Fordham advances to Saturday's 2 p.m. championship game. UMass will play again in today's third game which is scheduled for 4 p.m. but will start 30 minutes after St. Joe's-Charlotte.

Sarah Reeves, Kyllie Magill and Jess Serio all homered for UMass.

The game was tied 4-4 going into the seventh, but Jamie LaBovick's second home run of the game came with three runenrs on to make it 7-4.

Serio got one back with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn't enough.

The seven earned runs were the most Sara Plourde gave up all year.  She struck out eight. Fordham's Jen Mineau fanned 13.

UMass-Fordham

Refresh for updates from The Atlantic 10 Softball Tournament. Click on "GazetteUMass" on the Twitter widget for older posts.

Behind Sara and Sarah, UMass softball cruises 3-0

Behind a dominant effort by Sara Plourde, who struck out 16 and two moonshot home runs by Sarah Reeves. UMass advanced in the winner's bracket of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Softball start could be a bit late

The Minutewomen will open Atlantic 10 Tournament play with their third straight game against Saint Joseph's. Seeded No. 5 St. Joe's upset No. 4 Saint Louis 5-2 in 11 innings. UMass swept the Hawks, 5-0 and 8-0 Sunday.

The length of that game made darkness an issue on Tuesday as only two of the three scheduled games were able to be played. The second of those games is going on now.

The third game between Saint Louis and the Rhode Island-Charlotte loser is now scheduled for 10 a.m. today. UMass and St. Joe's will start 30 minutes after the completion of that game.

Plourde record watch

Sara Plourde passed 500 Ks this season today putting her in some elite company. 

She's just the 10th pitcher to strikeout 500 in a season and only the fourth sophomore to do so. The feat has been accomplished 18 times. Four pitchers have done it more than once.

SINGLE SEASON STRIKEOUTS
Player, Team Y Year Cl. S SO
1. Monica Abbott, Tennessee...............................2007 Sr. 724
2. Angela Tincher, Virginia Tech........................... 2008 Sr. 679
3. Courtney Blades, Southern Miss. ......................2000 Sr. 663
4. Cat Osterman, Texas......................................2006 Sr. 630
5. Angela Tincher, Virginia Tech.. .........................2007 Jr. 617*
6. Monica Abbott, Tennessee...............................2005 So. 603*
7. Cat Osterman, Texas......................................2005 Jr. 593*
8. Monica Abbott, Tennessee...............................2004 Fr. 582*
9. Cat Osterman, Texas......................................2002 Fr. 554*
10. Monica Abbott, Tennessee.............................2006 Jr. 531*
11. Brooke Mitchell, La.-Lafayette........................2004 Jr. 524
12. Taryne Mowatt, Arizona.................................2007 Jr. 522
13. Danielle Lawrie, Washington..........................2009 Sr. 521
14. Katherine Burkhart, Arizona St.......................2007 Jr. 517
15. Katherine Burkhart, Arizona St.......................2008 Sr. 513*
16. Alicia Hollowell, Arizona.................................2004 So. 508
17. Angela Tincher, Virginia Tech.........................2006 So. 504*
18. Sara Plourde, UMass ...................................2010 So. 501

Balschmiter a Team USA alternate, Notes

Brandice Balschmiter was named an alternate for the national softball team that plays this summer in Venezuela, an impressive accomplishment considering the pitchers that did make the team.

*  Doc Schneider became a UMass assistant lacrosse coach which is great for his career and great for the team, but bad for him if he doesn't want to tell me the origination of his "Doc" moniker. I still have a recording of him telling me in an interview that he'd reveal it after the season.

* I think Saint Louis is going to play a role in the Atlantic 10 race. They got Cody Ellis eligible finally and if he's as good as they think he could be, they might not win the league but could affect who does.

Links: Stories on Whipple, Palmieri

The Miami Herald has a story on former UMass coach Mark Whipple. In it there's a funny coincidence that Whipple's younger son Austin is now playing at St. Thomas Aquinas, the Ft. Lauderdale High School that he recruited quite a few players from, including Adrian Zullo.

The Salem News has a look at UMass softball player Tawny Palmieri.

...one day til football players arrive at UMass...

Couple of random thoughts

I wonder if the UMass softball team was rooting for Washington against Georgia Tech. Is it better to be able to say you played evenly with a team that makes noise in the Women's College World Series, or is it frustrating to know how close you came?

I think if it were me I might have stopped watching all together. Thinking about it one way or the other has to be worse than not thinking about it.

* * *

Former Minuteman Stephane Lasme won a championship for Partizan in the Serbian league and apparently just had a daughter.

UMass' recruiting class was ranked second-best among non-BCS league schools.

* * *

Former football star Rene Ingoglia wants to be a broadcaster. So much that he's joining the UMass radio broadcasts and is paying his own way to get to the games from his Orlando home ever week.

* * *

I'm thrilled with how much Rescue Me has improved from season four to season five.

...12 days til the 100 Seasons of UMass Basketball Premiere...

Sunday softball Game TWO: Washington 6, UMass 1 - 15 innings

AMHERST - A game that lasted over five hours was decided by a split second. With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 15th inning, Washington's Jen Salling hit a bouncer between third and short.

Whitney Mollica, the senior third baseman, snared it on the second bounce and threw to first. Salling leaned like a sprinter approaching the line and beat the throw. Barely beat it, but beat it nonetheless as pinch runner Dani Stuart trotted in from third.

Her armor cracked, pitcher Brandice Balschmiter struggled. She gave up two straight singles, then a walk. When the dust settled and she walked off the UMass mound for the final time in her storied career, the Huskies had a 6-1 lead.

The Minutewomen got the first two batters aboard in the bottom of the 15th, but a double play dulled any hopes of a miracle comeback and Samantha Salato's strikeout ended them all together.

The game was the longest in both school's histories. The Huskies had gone 13 innings in a loss to Arizona State in 2006, while the Minutewomen edged Princeton 3-2 in a 14-frame contest in 1994.

Balschmiter threw 243 pitches in her last collegiate game. She struck out 13 and walked just one. Her counterpart Danielle Lawrie struck out 24 while throwing 251 pitches.

Sunday softball Game One: UMass 5, Washington 1 F

After Whitney Mollica's tough day defensively contributed to the University of Massachusetts' loss to Washington, Saturday, her big day offensively was the key ingredient in the Minutewomen's win over the Huskies on Sunday.
Mollica's three-run home run in the third inning helped lift the Minutewomen to a 5-1 win forcing winner-take-all game scheduled to start at approximately 8:05.
Mollica's home run broke a tie with former teammate KJ Kelley for the school's career RBI record. Mollica now has 156. Samanta Salato added to her single season home run record with her 18 of the season in the fourth.
It was the first time Washington starter Danielle Lawrie allowed more than one home run in a game.
UMass senior pitcher Brandice Balshmiter won her 34th game, a single-season school record. She allowed three, a walks, hit two batters and struck out four.
It was UMass' first ever win against Washington.

Saturday GAME 3: UMass 8, Sacred Heart 0 - 5 innings

Senior pitcher Brandice Balschmiter quickly put Saturday's winner's bracket loss to Washington behind her, and threw a perfect game in a mercy-rile shortened five-inning 8-0 win over Sacred Heart.
The Minutewomen advanced to the finals for a rematch with the Huskies at 5 p.m. Washington, which beat UMass, 3-1, in Saturday's first game, need to win only once to capture the regional title. If the Minutewomen win, they teams would play a second game 30 minutes after the first.
Balschmiter struck out six and threw 51 pitches as just one ball left the infield in the entire game. She struck out Adrian Fitzsimon to end the game and pumped her fist.
It was the third perfect game of Balschmiter's career and the first this season. It was her 10th career no-hitter.
"I knew I wanted to get by them keep the pitch count down and beat the weather,"  said Balschmiter, who improved to 33-5 this season.
Sacred Heart co-coach Pam London tipped her hat.
"She pitched one helluva game" London said. "For her second game of the day she had a lot of gas left. Kudos to her."
UMass coach Elaine Sortino was pleased with the game's brevity.
"We didn't want to have to play any extra innings, Sortino said. "I thought we came out and did what we needed to do."
UMass (40-9) jumped ahead in the top of the second. After Samantha Salato and Audrey Boutin walked to open the inning, Kyllie Magill poked an RBI single just inside the third base line scoring Salato and moving pinch runner Jordan Storro to third. Magill moved to second on the throw home.
Jessica Serio followed with a bouncer to short. Storro beat the throw home giving UMass a 2-0 lead.
Carly Normandin's RBI single scored pinch runner Jill Andrews to make it 3-0.
The Minutewomen added two more with a two-out rally in the fourth. Normandin's double started the fire and after a Whitney Williams walk, Whitney Mollica stroked a double to right that scored Normandin. Sarah Reeves followed with an RBI single to make it 5-0.
More two-out offense made it 8-0 in the top of the fifth. Mollica capped the rally with an RBI single that gave her 153 career RBIs, tying KJ Kelley's career record.
Mollica, whose error led to the Washington winning runs in the early game, said she didn't let that loss affect her.
"I was a little distraught. But Brandice was the first one that came over and said I'm going to pick you up. By the time the game started I was fine," she said.

Sacred Heart 3, Cornell 1

Sacred Heart surprised the Big Red meaning the Minutemen will face the Pioneers in the third game today. The game is slated to start at 7:40 p.m.

...36 minutes til then...