The home-opening jitters are all but a memory for the Massachusetts softball team, as it will try to build off of its latest momentum when it welcomes Saint Louis to Amherst on Sunday for a doubleheader.
The Minutewomen (11-14, 3-3 A-10) will return to conference play against the Billikens (19-14, 4-2 A-10) after notching a pair of victories against Dartmouth on Wednesday, wins of 1-0 and 6-2 respectively, that included junior pitcher Sara Plourde’s first no-hitter of the season in Game 1.
The momentum has a lot to do with the re-energized play of Plourde. The Minutewomen’s ace was impressive following a pair of shaky performances against Temple and Saint Joseph’s last weekend in which she gave up seven and four runs, respectively.
UMass head coach Elaine Sortino made some mechanical adjustments with her pitcher in practice earlier this week, and the results thus far have been very satisfying, as Plourde threw the no-hitter before relieving freshman Caroline Raymond in Game 2 on Wednesday with two shutout innings and four strikeouts, earning her first save of the year.
UMass will now turn its attention to SLU, who lost four of its last six games heading into its matchups with Rhode Island Friday and Saturday before traveling to Amherst for Sunday’s tilts.
The Minutewomen will look to avenge their lone blemish in conference play last season, in which SLU managed to tie UMass, 3-3, in a game shortened due to rain conditions.
In their first matchup in the series in 2010, which was played at SLU, Plourde threw a one-hit shutout, striking out 14 Billikens in a 1-0 victory in a true pitcher’s duel. Junior Hannah Huebbe was the starting pitcher for SLU in the game, as she went the distance, allowing one run on six hits in the loss.
In the second game of the series, Plourde took the mound again, pitching eight innings, striking out 11 and allowing three runs on three hits before rain shortened the affair. Junior Kelcie Matesa started for the Billikens and also pitched a complete game, retiring the first 13 UMass batters of the game before giving up three runs on three hits to earn the tie.
Huebbe and Matesa return this year, and will likely get the nods similar to last year on Sunday.
So far in 2011, Huebbe boasts an 8-4 record along with a 2.88 ERA, which is good for seventh in the conference, while Matesa holds a 7-4 record, a 3.06 ERA and a team-leading 86 strikeouts in 80 innings of work.
For the Minutewomen offense to get to both pitchers on Sunday, it will have to rely on the momentum of Wednesday’s effort, in which they were able to muster six runs on 12 hits in what was an otherwise uncommon offensive splurge for the team this year.
Guiding the Maroon and White at the plate will be senior Audrey Boutin, who leads the team with a .321 batting average to go along with her two home runs and 10 RBIs this season. Boutin is 9-for-13 in her last four games, including a 4-for-4 effort in Game 2 on Wednesday against the Big Green.
In addition to Boutin, freshman Lindsey Webster has provided a much-needed lift to the UMass lineup.
Since presumably taking over Katie Bettencourt’s place in the lineup – she is out for the season with a lacerated liver – Webster has made the most out of her opportunities at the plate, batting .289 on the season to go along with three home runs and 10 RBIs, which includes a three-run home run that she hit on Wednesday.
The doubleheader will get started at 12 p.m. on Sunday afternoon from the UMass Softball Complex.
Stephen Hewitt can be reached at [email protected].
