No matter the opponent, the Massachusetts softball team just keeps on winning.
UMass (27-11, 13-0 Atlantic 10) continued its winning ways with a pair of victories on Tuesday afternoon against Rhode Island at the UMass Softball Complex to extend its winning streak to 11 games.
After a narrow, 5-4, win in the first game of the day, the Minutewomen responded with a huge win in the second game, beating the Rams (18-29-1, 2-11-1 A-10), 9-1, in a shortened, five-inning game by virtue of the mercy rule. Senior pitcher Sara Plourde had a big afternoon not only at the plate, but also on the hill as well, striking out 26 in the day’s action and rebounded well to some adversity.
“I felt like she needed to reinvent herself in the second game, and she absolutely did,” said UMass coach Elaine Sortino of Plourde. “I thought her pitching performance was as good as I’ve seen this entire season.”
Despite giving up a leadoff home run to Brittany Julich to start the game, Plourde responded with the tenacity she’s displayed all season, striking out 11 while giving up one hit the rest of the ballgame.
Plourde got the run back in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly to left before the floodgates opened up in the second. Cyndil Matthew hit an RBI triple before Quianna Diaz-Patterson lined an RBI single, which set up Katie Bettencourt, who crushed a two-run home run to right to push the UMass lead to 5-1.
“Coach has been really stressing on us to have good at-bats,” said Bettencourt. “I was seeing the ball really well, and I was just really looking for something by my thighs and I just took a hack.”
Lindsey Webster continued the offensive assault in the third inning with an RBI single that scored Kyllie Magill.
After the Minutewomen couldn’t score on a threat in the fourth, they made up for it in the fifth. Tiffany Meeks led off with a solo homer, followed by a Webster double and a Teea Rogers RBI single. Matthew reached on a fielder’s choice before Diaz-Patterson ended the day early with an RBI single to left.
“We really did a great job going with the pitch, adjusting to three different pitchers, you can’t ask your team to do more than that,” said Sortino. “They continue to make their adjustments at the plate.”
UMass escapes in Game 1
It wasn’t pretty, but the Minutewomen survived a late rally attempt from the Rams in the first game of the afternoon to hold on for a 5-4 victory.
It looked like Plourde would have an easy go at it from the first pitch, as she struck out the side in each of the first two innings to keep URI at bay.
But the Rams lineup started figuring her out in the third inning.
After Meg Kelly reached first base on a one-out bunt single, Dulich followed by roping a two-run double over the head of centerfielder Christine Della Vecchia to put URI ahead first, 2-0.
The Minutewomen responded well in the bottom half of the inning. After Della Vecchia grounded out, Matthew and Diaz-Patterson put together back-to-back singles before Bettencourt ripped a two-run double off the wall in center that tied the game.
After Plourde singled to move Bettencourt to third, Magill followed with a two-run double of her own to put UMass ahead before getting caught in a run down.
UMass extended its lead to 5-2 in the following inning on a Diaz-Patterson two-out RBI single, but couldn’t convert with two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth.
And with their last crack at Plourde in the seventh, the Rams put a scare into the senior ace.
Plourde forced a pop out to the leadoff batter, walked the next batter before striking out the next, which set up Julich for another at-bat. She made the most of her opportunity and sent a two-run homer over the wall in right to narrow the score to 5-4.
Kelly Coker followed her up by legging out an infield single, but Plourde was able to put Courtney Prendergast away on strikes to preserve UMass’ 10th straight victory.
Stephen Hewitt can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Hewitt.
