Paced by another Sara Plourde perfect game, the Massachusetts softball team enjoyed its Easter Sunday doubleheader against St. Bonaventure as it dispatched the Bonnies in both games.

In the Game 1, UMass (19-11, 6-0 Atlantic 10) got a perfect performance from Plourde, who made quick work of St. Bonaventure (14-14, 4-4 A-10), as the Minutewomen won, 10-0, by the mercy rule in five innings.

UMass jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning on a single by Katie Bettencourt that brought in Cyndil Matthew from second. In the second, the Minutewomen broke the game wide open by with six runs on five hits. The key hit came on a Sara Plourde three-run home run that pushed the UMass lead to 7-0.

Bettencourt delivered her second RBI of the game on a single in the third, which gave the Minutewomen an 8-0 advantage. In the fifth inning, third baseman Teea Rogers smacked a two-run single that drove in Bettencourt and Quianna Diaz-Patterson to make the lead 10-0. The Bonnies failed to cut the deficit below 10 runs in the next inning, which ended the game due to the 10-run rule.

Plourde did not allow a base runner in her five innings of work, which gave her the most prestigious pitching honor in softball – the perfect game. Plourde rarely needed her teammates in her 17th win of the season, as she struck out 10 of the 15 batters she faced, including eight of the first nine batters. The perfect game was the second of her career.

UMass assistant coach Kathryn Gleason said in an interview with UMass Athletics, “I thought we came out with great energy, especially at the plate.”

The Minutemen came away with another easy victory in Game 2 of the double-header, as they defeated SBU, 8-2. UMass did not wait nearly as long to get started, as it stormed out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning. Plourde kicked off the big inning with her second three-run homer of the day. Later in the inning, Tiffany Meeks put UMass up 6-0 with a three-run home run of her own that plated Rogers and Kyllie Magill.

Magill scored on an error in the second inning to push the Minutewomen lead to 7-0. The game stayed at that score until the sixth inning, when Diaz-Patterson hit an RBI double that brought in Christine Della Vecchia, who reached base on a leadoff walk.

The Bonnies finally got to Plourde in the bottom half of the sixth inning with a pair of runs, both of which were charged as unearned to Plourde.

Despite the two runs surrendered, Plourde still recorded 14 strikeouts in a complete game effort in the game, and only surrended one hit and three walks. She improved her record to 18-9 on the season.

“I’ve been struggling with walks all year, so it was nice to be able to keep them under control,” said Plourde.

With the two wins, the Minutewomen gained sole possession of first place in the A-10 conference.

UMass has now won eight of its last nine games, and will look to defend its 4-0 record at home heading into today’s matchup against UConn.

The Minutewomen are looking to avenge an earlier loss to the Huskies, when they lost at UConn 5-3 last Tuesday.

The Huskies (17-14, 6-3 Big East) comes in on a four game winning streak, with all four wins coming at home. However, UConn has not been nearly as strong on the road. The Huskies boast a perfect 7-0 record at home, but struggle on the road, amassing a 6-9 record.

Today’s game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start at the softball complex.

Patrick Strohecker can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at MDC_Strohecker.