Rain rules day
UMass softball game suspended
The home-field advantage the University of Massachusetts Minutewomen enjoyed did not extend to the dark clouds above the school's softball complex yesterday.
Playing in the four-team NCAA Amherst Regional, UMass had its game against Princeton suspended in the bottom of the first inning with no score because of unrelenting rain. The game will be picked up in progress at 9:30 this morning.
As a result, UMass faces the prospect of having to win two games today, and possibly playing three in the double-elimination tournament. Meanwhile, top-seeded Stanford, which defeated Lehigh, 4-0, earlier in the day, would have to win just once to advance to tomorrow's championship.
UMass ace Brandice Balschmiter likely will have to pitch six more innings this morning. Should the Minutewomen win, Balschmiter would probably be on the hill again at noon against Stanford.
Two teams will be eliminated today in this softball marathon.
"It is what it is," said UMass coach Elaine Sortino. "It's a national tournament, and sometimes you have to handle difficult situations."
Sortino did allow that Stanford is now in an enviable spot. "They're sitting in a nice, dry place," Sortino said.
The Cardinal (47-12) dispatched Lehigh (38-16-1) on the strength of a four-hit shutout by Missy Penna. The junior righthander struck out 14. Stanford got all the runs it needed in the first inning on a home run by Maddy Coon.
The start of the UMass (39-11) and Princeton (25-22) game was delayed 57 minutes. When the rain slackened, the teams got underway in sloppy conditions. Balschmiter pitched around an error and a hit batsman in the top of the first.
In the bottom, leadoff batter Whitney Williams was drilled between the shoulder blades. With the count 3 and 2 on the next hitter, Lauren Proctor, the game was suspended.
Baseball
Sophomore Jeremiah Bayer piched a complete game, allowing just two runs on seven hits, as undefeated Trinity earned its 40th straight win, defeating Wheaton, 6-2, in the NCAA Division 3 New England regional tournament in Harwich. The win ties the Bantams with Marietta College (Georgia) for the most consecutive wins by a Division 3 team, and moves them within a victory of a College World Series appearance. Also in the regional, Tim Therrian pitched a shutout to lead Southern Maine to an 8-0 victory over Keene State. Southern Maine will play Wheaton in an elimination game today to decide Trinity's next opponent . . . In the Division 2 regional at Rindge, N.H., Bryant stayed alive with a 10-3 victory over C.W. Post. Brett Almeida went the distance for the Bulldogs (40-20).Herenda returns
UMass-Lowell hired Greg Herenda as men's basketball coach, replacing Ken Barer, who resigned recently after seven years at the River Hawks' helm.Herenda was an assistant at UMass-Lowell from 1983-85, and has been an assistant at Yale, Seton Hall, and Holy Cross during more than 20 years of experience in college basketball. Last season, he was head coach of Division 3 Cabrini College in Padnor, Pa.
During his years with Lowell, Herenda helped recruit the team that won the Division 2 national title in 1988. 