Box Score May 15, 2010
Game 1 - Box Score | Championship Game - Box Score | 
Photo Gallery
AMHERST, Mass. - The top-seeded Massachusetts Minutewomen rallied back from their 7-5 loss to Fordham in Friday's semi final to take two games in from the Rams during Championship Finals on Saturday. The Minutewomen won their sixth-straight Atlantic 10 Championship title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
No.1 Massachusetts defeated No. 2 Fordham 3-0 in the 2 p.m. game to force the Championship Final into a doubleheader as both teams have had losses against each other.
In the second game, UMass defeated Fordham 8-3. Both teams recorded seven hits, but it was the Minutewomen who would score more with four home runs, two doubles and a triple with a tally of seven RBI. Six of the seven extra base hits scored a run.
Senior Erin Fisher (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville) was the offensive highlight of the day for the Rams as she hit two home runs in the Championship game and became the second Fordham softball player in two days to tie the Atlantic 10 in-game homer record. Fisher's two home runs and three RBI broke two Fordham records as she broke the single-season record for home runs with 16 and the career-RBI record with 148.
The previous RBI-record was set by Allison Twarowski at 145 (2004-08). Rookie Jamie LaBovick (Peoria, Ariz./Sunrise Mountain) had two home runs in Friday's 7-5 semi final victory over UMass.
Fordham had four players named to the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship All-Tournament team, with Fisher, LaBovick, junior Samantha Pellechio (Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon) and sophomore pitcher Jen Mineau (Schaghticoke, N.Y./Hoosic Valley Central). LaBovick had a stellar performance in Saturday's semi-final, also tying the A-10's All-Championship record with five RBI in a game. Mineau pitched the Atlantic 10 Championships' first-ever perfect game and Pellechio hit a two-run bomb to tie the game at two in Saturday's game and was 2-for-4 in the Championship final against UMass.
The Minutewomen are the only team to defeat the Rams in the past 33 games, as Fordham was on a 21-game win streak since UMass defeated them during the regular season twice at home, 2-0, 3-2. The Minutewomen were also the last team to shut out the Rams on April 3 in their regular season doubleheader meeting. Fordham ends the Atlantic 10 Championships 47-10 overall and will look to Sunday's NCAA Regionals Selection Show to see where the rest of their season will be played.
UMass' senior Sarah Reeves was named the Atlantic 10 Championships' Most Outstanding Player. Reeves had five RBI in total in the three games played between Fordham and Massachusetts, including a home run in the Championship Final and a two RBI in the 2 p.m. game.
Reeves broke the record for RBI in an Atlantic 10 Championship with 10 RBI. Reeves has also broke the tournament record for home runs with five.
Championship Game
No. 1 Massachusetts 8, Fordham 3
In the first inning, Reeves put one run on the board early with a huge hit over the 10-foot high double fence in centerfield into the parking lot. The Minutewomen sent in two more runs in the second inning with two more home runs, this time from Michelle Libby and Meghan Carta.
In the fourth inning, Fisher hit her first home run of the day with a one-out shot over the centerfield wall. Fisher brought the Rams back in it in the top of the sixth inning with a two-run homer that just cleared the same spot over the centerfield wall. Pellechio led off the inning with a single into right field as she scored on Fisher's hit.
UMass plated five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, capped off by an RBI-triple by senior Carly Normandin, to take a 8-1 lead. Fordham cut the lead to five runs with Fisher's two-run homer.
No. 1 Massachusetts 3, Fordham 0
Fordham had a couple chances to plate runs, the first in the second inning as junior catcher Meghan Shager (Conklin, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley) hit a double to center field with one out. She was left on third base at the end of the inning, after stealing a base during some confusion at home plate.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Rams once again had an opportunity to bring runs in as junior Jocelyn Dearborn (New Milford, Pa./Blue Ridge) walked on a full count to load the bases after Jessica Richards led of the inning with a single over the shortstop into the grass. Sophomore Lindsey Kay Bright (Federal Way, Wash./Decatur) hit one up the middle, it was pushed a little bit farther in by the wind, but stayed a single and Richards was able to advance to second. The Rams had two more chances to score but couldn't get it done as no runs would score in the top of the fifth inning.
UMass scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth with Reeves' RBI sac fly and Kyllie MaGill's single to the gap on the left side.
Junior pitcher Chelsea Plimpton (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville South) came in the game to relieve Mineau in the fifth inning. Plimpton struck out Jessica Serio to get two outs with two Minutewomen on. Dearborn grabbed a line drive hit down the third baseline for the final out of the inning to stop the Minutewomen from getting more than two runs on the board.
Plimpton helped the Rams get out of the game with no more runs scoring, but the Rams offense couldn't get it done down the stretch. Fordham had a final last ditch shot in the top of the seventh as Pellechio and LaBovick got on base in a potential two-out rally. LaBovick hit a shot down the left field line to get on base while Pellechio walked. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch from Plourde.
Mineau started both games for Fordham. She went four innings in the first game and 3.2 innings in the second. Overall, Mineau had nine strikeouts. She recorded the losses in both games, and her overall record is now 32-7.
Plimpton pitched 4.1 innings of work and allowed just one run off two hits.
The trip to the Championship Final was the first for Fordham since 2005.
Fordham will look ahead to Selection Sunday as the Rams await the fate of their season and hope to earn their first-ever at large bid to the NCAA Regionals. The selection show will air at 10 p.m. on ESPNU. Fordham has high hopes for a bid, as the Rams have been receiving votes in the polls since early March and boast an RPI of 31.
