It was a weekend of highs and lows for the Massachusetts softball team, as it went 2-2 at the Easton Alabama Invite in Tuscaloosa, Ala. with three of the four games decided by eight runs or more.
Senior pitcher Sara Plourde was the story for UMass as her 38 strikeouts this weekend moved her into second on the school’s all-time list with 1,238. Plourde passed Brandice Balschmiter’s mark of 1,218, and is only 106 strikeouts away from surpassing Danielle Henderson’s record of 1,343.
“I think [the numbers] speak for themselves,” said UMass coach Elaine Sortino. “Honestly, she wants to see the team that she’s pitching for have success, and take them some place special.”
Also making record-setting contributions for the Minutewomen was freshman shortstop Quianna Diaz-Patterson, who set a UMass single-game record with eight runs batted in on Friday.
Diaz-Patterson and junior outfielder Cyndil Matthew were named to the All-Tournament team. Matthew led the Minutewomen with a staggering .462 batting average on the weekend, while Diaz-Patterson also put up a strong .429 mark.
The closest game of the weekend was a 4-1 win over Maryland on Sunday for the Minutewomen (7-7).
UMass found itself down quickly after Plourde hit Candice Beards in the top of the first inning with the bases loaded, walking a runner home to give the Terrapins a 1-0 lead.
The Minutewomen responded in the bottom half of the inning when Lindsey Webster drove home two runs with a bases loaded single to give UMass a 2-1 lead.
Webster’s two-run single turned out to be the game-winner as Plourde was untouchable the rest of the way, limiting the Terrapins to three hits and fanning 11 batters.
The Minutewomen added insurance in the second inning when a Diaz-Patterson double scored Matthew. Diaz-Patterson then scored when Katie Bettencourt reached on an error.
“I thought they showed a lot of character,” said Sortino. “Being down by a run early in the game, and responding by taking the lead tells me that this is a team that’s really finding itself. I was very pleased.”
Saturday Struggles
The nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader is one UMass would surely like to forget.
They were pummeled 19-0 by Alabama-Birmingham in five innings.
Freshman pitcher Bridget Lemire struggled, as she allowed 18 hits in three and a third innings.
“Watching [Lemire] get shelled I’m thinking ‘maybe she’s having a bad night,’” said Sortino. “That’s just not her.”
However, her struggles were more of a product of an injury suffered during the game that she did not disclose to the training staff.
“She was injured, and I was not aware of it because she didn’t say anything,” Sortino continued.
Plourde came in to relieve Lemire in the top of the fourth and stopped the bleeding.
The Blazers dominated the game from the beginning, as they scored seven runs in the first two innings.
UAB did the bulk of its damage in the fourth inning, when it scored 12 runs.
The Minutewomen only recorded one hit in the game off the bat of Diaz-Patterson in the bottom of the first.
UMass had another tough challenge in the day-cap of its day-night doubleheader, as they fell 8-0 to No.1 Alabama.
The Minutewomen were competitive through the first four innings, holding Alabama to two runs on four hits, but could not generate any offense.
Plourde started off strong, but lost command in the fifth inning, as she walkd in two runs, and hit a batter to bring home another run as part of a four-run fifth inning, making the score 6-0.
“I thought [Plourde] had a lot of strong moments this weekend, but had a lot of difficulty with the strike zone,” said Sortino. “I believe it’s something in her motion that we’ll be able to fix in the next couple of days.”
Jazlyn Lunceford belted a two-run homer in the sixth inning to put the game away.
Despite the defeat, Sortino felt positive about her team’s performance.
“We were in one heck of a game up until the fifth inning with Alabama,” said Sortino. “We were getting runners on base and we were threatening. That game on paper, through the first five innings, was very good considering it was against the top team in the country.”
Strong Start
UMass kicked off the weekend with a 16-6 blowout against Maryland on Friday.
The Terrapins came out hot with five runs in the first inning, a rally that was highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of Beards.
Maryland’s bats may have been hot, but UMass was even hotter at the plate with 15 hits on the day.
After tying the game at five in the top of the second, the Minutewomen took the lead in the third off a two-run double by Diaz-Patterson.
While the offense continued to roll, Plourde settled in, and allowed only one more run the rest of the contest with twelve strikeouts. The defense also helped Plourde, as the Minutewomen went error-less in the game.
UMass would produce one final push in the seventh inning. They scored six runs in the inning, and Diaz-Patterson capped off her record-setting night with a grand slam.
The Minutewomen next take the field March 16 for the USF Under Armour Tournament in Clearwater, Fla. starting with a double-header against UNC-Wilmington and Northern Colorado.
Nick Canelas can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Canelas.
