A fatigued but energetic Massachusetts softball team will head back out on the road this weekend for the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.
The Minutewomen (4-6) went 2-3 in Cathedral City, Calif., last weekend, defeating Fresno State and Michigan State and taking No. 2 Arizona to 13 innings before falling in a 4-2 game.
UMass has Florida State and DePaul on tap Friday before facing off against Texas A’M and Auburn Saturday. The Minutewomen finish the tournament against Mississippi State.
UMass coach Elaine Sortino takes her team to this tournament annually. It is primarily composed of the NCAA Tournament bracket from two years prior, or 2006, when the Minutewomen reached the Super Regionals and one win away from the team’s fourth Women’s College World Series berth.
The Minutewomen usually have two weeks between long road trips like this, but the opportunity to play in both the Palm Springs Classic and the Leadoff Classic was enough for Sortino to book the team on back-to-back weekends.
The Leadoff Classic was moved back a week this year, which gave Sortino the chance to play her team against the nation’s best in both tourneys.
“Now we’ve been able to play on two national stages back-to-back,” Sortino said. “Every ranked team in the nation except for Tennessee was [at the Palm Springs Classic]. That place was loaded, so we’ve got plenty of opportunity to do what we need to do for our RPI.”
A week between the two events would be challenging enough, but a delayed flight back from California halted the team in Denver and has shortened their practice schedule.
“Monday would have been our day off,” Sortino said. “It’s been very stressful, very hard, very challenging and mentally exhausting.”
In the team’s first two tournaments, pitching was the constant, but with the rest of the team finally seeing some time on a real field (they’ve been practicing inside Boyden Gymnasium most of the winter), the team’s hitting is starting to come around.
The team’s offensive leaders, Stacy Cullington and Lauren Proctor, have yet to gain the form they held last year. Sortino said she simply wants her veterans to be less selective with pitches at the place, while her freshmen need to get more comfortable in the batter’s box.
“Am I happy with our offense? The answer would be no,” Sortino said. “I felt like we weren’t quite what we were looking for early in the count. It either takes experience for our younger kids to learn that, or trust from our older kids, who are being a little too picky [at the plate].”
Serio earns A-10 honor
Catcher Jessica Serio was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after going 7-of-13 last weekend with two doubles and four RBIs.
Serio now leads the Minutewomen with a .357 batting average and four RBIs (tied with Carly Normandin). She hit .221 last year with five RBIs on the season.
The sophomore switched from third base to catcher after when she came to UMass. She spent most of 2007 adjusting to her new position, but has settled down behind the plate and her hitting has benefitted.
“I can’t talk about her enough,” Sortino said. “She handles our pitchers well, and she’s turned into a really unbelievable catcher and a great asset to the team.”
Jeremy Rice can be reached at [email protected]
