An 11-game winning streak while having one of the top pitchers in the country is never a good enough reason for the Massachusetts softball team to take an opponent lightly.
Despite the Minutewomen (26-7, 8-0 Atlantic 10) traveling to Connecticut to face a Huskies (18-19, 4-5 Big East) team that is under .500, UMass coach Elaine Sortino won’t let her team look past their opponent on Friday.
Since the beginning of the season, Sortino has noted how her team has a target on its back. From playing its conference opponents (who are trying to knock down the five-time defending A-10 champions) to out of conference foes (who see UMass and its No. 21 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Division I NFCA Top 25 Poll), many of the Minutewomen’s games are like championship games for their opponents.
Most teams seem to play their best against UMass for this reason, and it will likely be the same when the Minutewomen square off with the Huskies in the first of two matchups this season between the two schools.
To top it off, UMass and UConn have a long-standing rivalry, and always play hard against one another. Last season, the Minutewomen took both games the teams played, winning 6-4 in Storrs, Conn. on a Carly Normandin seventh inning grand slam with two outs before shutting out the Huskies 9-0 in Amherst a week later.
UMass will deal with a balanced UConn team that boasts a solid offense as well as pitching staff.
Led by Kiki Saveriano (10-8 record, 2.28 earned run average), the Huskies pitching staff has held batters to a .257 average, while posting a combined 2.84 ERA. Saveriano has proven she can strikeout batters – she strikes out nearly a quarter of the batters she faces – but also has been prone to giving up home runs (eight).
On offense, UConn will depend on Julianne Towers (team leading .357 batting average, nine home runs and 25 RBIs) and Amy Deluca (.355 average and 19 RBIs).
The Huskies will likely face off against UMass’ ace Sara Plourde, who gave up five earned runs to Boston University on Tuesday. The offense, led by Sarah Reeves two home runs, helped Plourde out however, as UMass won 7-5.
The five runs given up by Plourde were the same amount the sophomore had given up in her previous 11 appearances.
While Plourde’s performance was not up to par with what UMass has come to expect from her, the victory saw more offense from the Minutewomen than they’ve showed over the past couple of weeks. Beyond Reeves’ two home runs, Meghan Carta and Michelle Libby also went deep to provide some offense for UMass.
UMass will return to its A-10 schedule following its tilt with UConn on Friday when it travels to St. Bonaventure for two games on Sunday.
The Huskies will return to Amherst on April 29, for the second matchup of the season between the two schools in the middle of UMass’ 10-game home stand to end the regular season.
Jeffrey R. Larnard can be reached at [email protected].
