2008 Woodie Awards
Softball: Amherst, here they come
Jeremy Rice, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: Sports
For the third year in a row, the Massachusetts softball team will play host to one of 16 regional tournaments in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Softball Championship, and for the third year in a row, it will do so as a No. 2 seed.
"We're home again, third year in a row. It's a great feeling," pitcher Brandice Balschmiter said.
The 12th-seeded Stanford Cardinals will fly cross-country to Amherst as the top seed in the regional, as will No. 3 Princeton and No. 4 Lehigh, which were also part of the 2006 Amherst Regional.
As has become the tradition, the Minutewomen watched and waited at The Hangar on University Dr. in Amherst last night at 10 p.m. for ESPN's NCAA Softball Selection Show. After 5th overall seed Texas A&M was announced as the host school for its regional, which includes Louisiana Tech, Auburn and Stephen F. Austin, the Amherst Regional was announced, filling the small pub with cheers from the team.
"This is our third year in a row hosting, so I'm pleasantly surprised," third baseman Whitney Mollica said. "It's just better because we have our home crowd here, and we can rest here. We don't have to be travelling anywhere, so it's better for us in the long run."
In 2006, the Minutewomen won the Amherst Regional without having to play top-seeded Texas A&M, which lost twice to Lehigh. The Minutewomen defeated Albany, 2-0, in the opening round of the tournament, then defeated Lehigh on back-to-back days to move on to the Super Regionals, where Balschmiter and the Minutewomen lost a best-of-three series to Northwestern.
Last season, the Oklahoma Sooners came to the Pioneer Valley and defeated UMass twice en route to a regional championship. After failing to make it back to the Super Regionals last season, the team is glad to be back in Amherst for another chance at making a deep postseason run.
The Minutewomen returned home from Charlotte after claiming their 20th Atlantic 10 Championship, which will be a different experience for many of the players after hosting both the conference and regional tournaments in Amherst last season.
"We're home again, third year in a row. It's a great feeling," pitcher Brandice Balschmiter said.
The 12th-seeded Stanford Cardinals will fly cross-country to Amherst as the top seed in the regional, as will No. 3 Princeton and No. 4 Lehigh, which were also part of the 2006 Amherst Regional.
As has become the tradition, the Minutewomen watched and waited at The Hangar on University Dr. in Amherst last night at 10 p.m. for ESPN's NCAA Softball Selection Show. After 5th overall seed Texas A&M was announced as the host school for its regional, which includes Louisiana Tech, Auburn and Stephen F. Austin, the Amherst Regional was announced, filling the small pub with cheers from the team.
"This is our third year in a row hosting, so I'm pleasantly surprised," third baseman Whitney Mollica said. "It's just better because we have our home crowd here, and we can rest here. We don't have to be travelling anywhere, so it's better for us in the long run."
In 2006, the Minutewomen won the Amherst Regional without having to play top-seeded Texas A&M, which lost twice to Lehigh. The Minutewomen defeated Albany, 2-0, in the opening round of the tournament, then defeated Lehigh on back-to-back days to move on to the Super Regionals, where Balschmiter and the Minutewomen lost a best-of-three series to Northwestern.
Last season, the Oklahoma Sooners came to the Pioneer Valley and defeated UMass twice en route to a regional championship. After failing to make it back to the Super Regionals last season, the team is glad to be back in Amherst for another chance at making a deep postseason run.
The Minutewomen returned home from Charlotte after claiming their 20th Atlantic 10 Championship, which will be a different experience for many of the players after hosting both the conference and regional tournaments in Amherst last season.
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