After spending the early part of the season in more tropical climates in Arizona and Florida, the Massachusetts softball team has returned to bitter reality: the New England weather. The Minutewomen fought through the bitter conditions in Cambridge to take a doubleheader yesterday over Harvard, 7-2 and 2-1.
UMass’ featured pitching duo, Kelli Arnold and Jenna Busa, continued their success on the mound despite the unfriendly pitching situation. Arnold extended her unearned run streak to 29 and 1/3 innings, as Busa ended her own streak at 31 innings after giving up a homerun to Cecily Gordon in the sixth.
Busa started the opening contest and improved to 9-5 on the year with a 7-2 victory. The reigning Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week scattered six hits, two walks, four strikeouts and two earned runs. The veteran, Arnold, had five strikeouts and gave up only three hits, one walk and one unearned run. The junior/sophomore combo has only let one run cross the plate, earned or unearned, since winning the Blue and Gold title on March 14 in Miami.
“Our pitching ability brings us stability,” UMass head coach Elaine Sortino said. “I feel they both pitched well considering the conditions. It’s terrible out here, so cold and windy. Kelli [Arnold] really stepped up today turning down the heart of the order and pitched a solid game.
I think Jenna pitched a little erratic today. She gave up only three hits and unfortunately two were homeruns, but she still pitched a pretty good game.”
Contributing to the hurlers’ effort, four different players in Maroon and White managed a homerun, as the team had 21 hits in the doubleheader. In game one, junior Pam Sulick ignited a second inning rally with the first homer of the day, a solo shot to right center, as junior Hilary Puglia had first roundtripper of season in the fourth.
An unlike combo, sophomore K.J. Kelley and junior Denise Denis, produced the only UMass runs of the second game. In the fourth inning, Kelley started hot at the plate and blasted a shot to left, her tenth homerun of the year. Denis went back-to-back sending one over the right field fence, her first career homerun. The junior outfielder’s milestone knock turned out to be the difference maker as Harvard scored on an error to cut the lead to one. Puglia managed to convert three consecutive grounders to end the threat of a comeback.
“I said it in the beginning of the season and I still believe this is the best hitting team we have ever had,” Sortino said. “All our kids can hit and a lot can run and that gives multiple ways of producing runs. Though you will never see this team swinging for the fence, because I don’t believe in that.”
Senior K.C. Budrewicz followed the homer with a shot to right field that caught up in the wind and allowed Budrewicz to leg out the triple. Freshman Amanda Morin capitalized on the scoring opportunity, singling to left field to bring home Morin.
UMass added four runs in the fourth to extend their lead. Sophomore Kristen Stefanoni and Morin hit back-to-back double to start things off, as Morin scored on Stefanoni’s double. After Stefanoni crossed the plate on a wild pitch, Puglia sent a two-run shot to left and gave the Minutewomen commanding 6-0 lead heading into the fifth.
After senior Aisha Franke added a seventh run, the Crimson added a pair of homeruns in the two final frames. Overlooking Busa’s late inning mishaps, Sortino feels her sophomore pitcher will only improve.
“Jenna is finally starting to realize what she can do with the ball and that’s part of the experience she didn’t have three weeks ago,” Sortino said. “She’s developed a good change-up and has a great curveball. As she emerges, I think she’s only going to get better and get more batters swinging.”
