Friday, May 16
Princeton @ Massachusetts
Amherst, Mass. • 5:00 PM
ppd. |
Saturday, May 17
Princeton @ Massachusetts
Amherst, Mass. • 9:30 AM
Player of the Year
Brooke Darreff - Saint Joseph's
Sophomore, Catcher, Hartsville, Pa./Central Bucks South HS
Darreff finished the season with a .462 batting average, good for fourth nationally...also ranked ninth nationally in on-base percentage (.536) and was 39th in the nation in doubles per game (0.31)...reached base safely in 38 of 42 games played and batted .500 with runners in scoring position and .765 with a runner at third and less than two outs.
Pitcher of the Year
Brandice Balschmiter - Massachusetts
Junior, Pitcher, Newark, N.Y./Newark HS
Balschmiter, garnered her third-straight A-10 Pitcher of the Year award, and finished the A-10 Championship with the nation's lowest earned run average at 0.54...appeared in 38 games while tossing 17 shutouts and five no-hitters, including two perfect games...has held opponents to a .141 batting average and has currently recorded 23 wins in a row...named the A-10 Pitcher of the Week a league-record nine times and set a UMass record with 14 strikeouts in a five-inning game against Temple on Apr. 13...just the second player in league history to earn three Pitcher of the Year honors, joining former Massachusetts standout Danielle Henderson (1997-99) as the only players to hold that distinction.
Rookie of the Year
Lindsay Maroney - Massachusetts
Freshman, Designated Player, Bradford, Mass./Phillips Academy
Maroney has had an impressive rookie campaign for the nationally-ranked Minutewomen..ranks second on the squad in both batting average (.374) and slugging percentage (.593)...has two grand slams on the year and is 7-for-9 in stolen base attempts... freshman is hitting .500 with the bases loaded and .500 with two outs.
Coach of the Year
Elaine Sortino - Massachusetts
28th Season
Now in her 28th year at Massachusetts, Sortino has made winning a habit...has earned the A-10 Coach of the Year award an unprecedented nine times, this time for leading her Minutewomen to their 20th A-10 regular season title, a perfect 20-0 record in Conference play and earning her 1,000th career win...became just the 11th coach in NCAA history and eighth in Division I annals to reach the 1,000- win plateau...under her direction, UMass enters the NCAA Championship riding a 29-game winning streak.
