After a disappointing 1-4 start in Fiesta Bowl, the Massachusetts softball will now look right its ship in the 2003 NFCA Leadoff Classic, a tournament UMass won after defeating three Top 25 opponents to win the title a year ago.
The ninth-annual NFCA Leadoff Classic features 24 of top softball teams in the nation traveling to Columbus, Ga. for the three-day tournament. 14 of the top 25 teams will compete from Feb. 27 to 29. There will be six pools, with the top team in each pool advancing to the Gold Championship. The remaining teams, determined by record in pool play, will be placed in Silver and Bronze Championship.
This is the Minutewomen’s ninth straight time being invited to the national tournament. UMass have No. 5 Oklahoma, Central Michigan and DePaul in their pool. The Maroon and White open pool play against DePaul on Friday at 2:30 and Oklahoma at 5:30. Saturday will have the Minutewomen matched up with DePaul at 12:30.
The pitching staff might have a challenge over the weekend with Kelli Arnold, the 2003 Leadoff Classic Most Outstanding Player, possibly out with a concussion. Arnold has barely practiced all week and was marked questionable by head coach Elaine Sortino. Arnold went 3-0 with a save, giving up only one run and four hits to then No. 11 Florida State in the championship game on her way to the National Player of the Week honors.
Without Arnold, sophomore Jenna Busa is now the leader of the staff after her success at the Fiesta Bowl. Busa posted a 1.79 ERA against the steep competition in Arizona.
“What we what to do is play better than we played out in Arizona,” Sortino said. “The first place we are looking to is the pitching staff. I want to see if they cut down on the walks, increase the strikeouts and hopefully do a little better of a job neutralizing the offense. That would be a great mark and I think the outcome would get taken care of.”
“At the plate, we want to do the reverse. I think what we want to do is increase our walks and cut down our strikeouts. Our goal is to extend the count and take the pitchers deeper in the count. If get the short game and run game going, we can open some things up.”
Patty Gasso is well-known for getting her Oklahoma teams tremendous starts. OU has reloaded after losing their most accomplished class in the program’s history. The 2003 seniors, including three All-Americans were the last class part of the 2000 national champions. The Sooners are left with a legacy of four straight College World Series appearances. OU posts a 12-2-1 schedule so far this season.
Returning All-American pitcher Kami Keiter has been sidelined with an injury in the early goings this season.
The Sooners’ offense is lead by freshman Jaime Fox and senior April Valdez. Fox hit .500 with two doubles, two homeruns and 10 runs batted in last week, as Valdez is batting .500 over the last nine games.
“[Oklahoma] is going to hit the ball,” Sortino said. “It’s going to be a typical Oklahoma team with strong pitching, formidable hitting and always a solid defense. They are a little bit younger of an Oklahoma team, but we haven’t seen them in three years so it’s not going to matter.”
Central Michigan will kick off their season at the Leadoff Classic after posting a 26-18 record, 14 -7 in Mid-American play. The Chippewas return nine lettermen lead by senior Amber Puchalski. The senior hurler, a two-time first team All-MAC pick, is chasing several school and conference records this season.
DePaul are 1-4 this season with three of the losses coming against Top 10 teams UCLA, Cal and Nebraska. The losses have dropped DePaul from the Top 25, who were previously ranked No. 21.
Junior Saskia Roberson is hitting .500 with five doubles and four RBI. Senior Sarah Martz is 1-2 in the circle with a 5.85 ERA and 17 strikeouts.
