Since suffering an ugly 13-5 loss to Northwestern nearly two weeks ago, the Massachusetts softball team has proved itself resilient and then some.
Behind the dominant right arm of ace pitcher Sara Plourde, UMass (16-10, 4-0 Atlantic 10) made easy work of Dayton in a two-game sweep this weekend at the UMass Softball Complex to improve its perfect conference record and its season-high winning streak to five games.
While Plourde has received much recognition recently for her performances in the circle, it was the bats that came alive on Friday.
In Game 2 of the series, the Minutewomen pounded out 17 hits en route to a 13-1 beating of the Flyers in a shortened five-inning game which was suspended until Saturday afternoon due to darkness.
“The offense was on fire, one through nine,” said junior centerfielder Cyndil Matthew, who finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs in Game 2. “Everyone was on it, they saw the ball where it was, they took balls, they hit strikes. We were all there.”
Each team traded runs in the first inning, but UMass unleashed its offensive assault in the second. The Minutewomen batted around twice in the inning, exploding for 10 runs and 10 hits while taking advantage of four errors committed by the Flyers.
Freshman shortstop Quianna Diaz-Patterson continued her hot start to the season, belting a two-run home run in the inning that scored Matthew to make the game 6-1 in favor of the Minutewomen.
Every player who started finished the game with a hit, including Plourde, who finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate. Her single to the left side in the first scored Matthew and she also crossed the plate during the second inning explosion.
On the mound, she was once again dominant. She struck out 11 and only gave up one hit in her 20th complete game of the season.
The delay in the middle of the game didn’t seem to bother her either, as she retired both sides in the fourth and fifth innings to complete the shortened thumping of Dayton.
“Having the delay could drain it, but we just came out with the same energy that we had [from Friday] and continued it,” said Plourde.
Close call
Game 1 of the weekend’s series was a lot closer than the second game, as UMass prevailed, 3-1, on Friday.
After a scoreless first, the Minutewomen got on the board in the bottom of the second courtesy of Plourde. On the first pitch she saw, she slugged a solo home run to left to put UMass ahead 1-0. It was Plourde’s third homer in four games up to that point.
“I’ve always wanted to keep hitting since I’ve been here, but I haven’t had the opportunity to because of all of us always getting injured, myself getting injured [included],” said Plourde. “I never stopped practicing or hitting because I kept saying I wanted to keep hitting and I kept asking [coach Elaine Sortino] all the time.”
“I just kept hitting and got myself ready, just in case it happened, and thank God I did.”
Following Plourde’s home run, Jordan Storro drew a walk, then advanced to second on an error and ultimately scored after Matthew singled through the left side.
It turned out that was all Plourde needed in the pitching circle to preserve the win. She surrendered a home run in the fourth inning to Kathleen Maloof in the fourth inning, but that would be the only hit she would surrender.
UMass immediately got the run back in the fourth as Storro hit a home run to left to make the score 3-1. Plourde finished off the last three innings allowing only one base runner to the Flyers. She struck out 17 in the game and kept her control issues at bay as she only yielded just two walks.
Looking forward, the Minutewomen will stare down a busy week, as they head into a non-conference portion of their schedule. UMass will travel Storrs, Conn., to battle Connecticut Tuesday.
The Minutewomen will then return home for games against Boston College and Hartford on Wednesday and Thursday before wrapping up the week with a doubleheader at St. Bonaventure on Sunday as they return to A-10 play.
Stephen Hewitt can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Hewitt.
