Before the second game against Boston University, the last team to put up more than three runs against the Massachusetts softball team was Kansas when it put up six against the Minutewomen on March 18.
This weekend, the weather was the only thing that could stop UMass from having its way on the defensive end.
The Minutewomen (27-7, 8-0 Atlantic 10) had their double-header against St. Bonaventure rained out on Sunday, but drubbed Connecticut 12-0 on Friday. Junior Meghan Carta hit two home runs, including a grand slam in the win while pitcher Sara Plourde threw a two-hit shut-out with 15 strikeouts.
Seniors Sarah Reeves and Jessica Serio went 3-for-3 against the Huskies (18-20, 4-5 Big East).
Aside from strong hitting, UMass also showed plenty of discipline at the plate by drawing 10 walks.
The Minutewomen scored their first run in the second inning when senior Michelle Libby came home on Serio’s double to right field. Libby and senior Whitney Williams reached base after being hit by UConn pitcher Kiki Saveriano.
The freshman walked five batters and gave up five runs (three earned) in four innings before getting pulled for sophomore Ali Adelman.
UMass had its biggest inning against Saveriano in the next inning with four runs on three hits. Carta hit her first home run on the game and brought in outfielder Jill Andrews, who pinch ran for Reeves.
The Huskies’ defense did little to take the pressure off their pitcher. UConn committed two errors and eventually gave up another two runs to freshman Teea Rogers and Serio.
Adelman pitched a scoreless fifth inning, but gave up seven runs (five earned) in the next two frames. Reeves’s triple was the first hit of the sixth inning, and eventually scored on Adelman’s second straight illegal pitch.
The seventh inning was more of the same for UConn, which gave up five runs, including Carta’s grand slam. Libby scored the 12th run of the game after reaching first base on an error by the shortstop, and then advanced to third after a wild pitch and a passed ball.
Serio brought in Libby on a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
It’s the second-highest run total scored by the Minutewomen. The first was when they scored 17 runs against George Washington in Game 1 of a double-header on March 28.
UMass will play its next game at home against Quinnipiac. The Bobcats are coming off a split series against Mount St. Mary’s where sophomore Heather Schwartzburg broke her previous strikeout record (206) with eight strikeouts to set the new record at 214.
QU (21-20, 8-4 Northeast Conference) is 0-3 against A-10 opponents with two losses to Temple and one to Fordham.
The game against the Minutewomen will be the end of a five-game road trip, where the Bobcats are currently 3-1.
QU isn’t nearly as strong in hitting as UMass, with three players hitting above .300 and limited production in the home run category, but Schwartzburg has proven to be the team’s best pitcher, and will likely get the start today.
She is 15-6 with a 1.26 earned run average and is surprising the Bobcats early in her career similar to how Plourde is with the Minutewomen.
If the canceled game gives UMass any benefit against QU, it will be the fact that it had three days off for the first time in nearly a month. The Minutewomen haven’t been off for more than two days since the start of the A-10 schedule.
The last time UMass had more rest was when it beat the Colonials twice a week after losing to Long Beach State on March 21.
Adam Miller can be reached at [email protected].
