The Massachusetts softball team has some questions that need to be answered as it enters a challenging 2016 season.
One of the most important mysteries is who will step up and take the mound day in and day out for the Minutewomen. Last season, UMass had senior Caroline Raymond, who led the team in just about every meaningful pitching category including earned run average (4.08), wins (11), innings pitched (161.1) and strikeouts (75), proving to be the workhorse of the staff.
But this season, in her third year as the Minutewomen coach, Kristi Stefanoni and pitching coach Kaitlin Inglesby have some work to do to find pieces to fill the substantial innings void left by Raymond.
Coming off a weekend in which she watched UMass lose its first three games, Stefanoni was adamant that she was still looking for someone to make the leap at the top of the rotation.
“We are waiting for someone to step up,” she said. “We are waiting for someone to show the demand and control that is necessary.”
Three names were mentioned by Stefanoni as players that could help pick up the slack: senior Taylor Carbone, junior Tara Klee and sophomore Meg Colleran. This trio of right-handed pitchers will try to solidify their places in the rotation as the season goes along.
Colleran is the most experienced pitcher of the group, as she was the Minutewomen’s No. 2 starter last season. In 21 appearances (16 starts), Colleran pitched 101.2 innings but had some typical freshman struggles. Her record at the end of the season was 3-13 with an ERA of 5.51, but she was also the only pitcher on the staff with a positive ratio of strikeouts to walks (57 strikeouts compared to just 39 walks).
Colleran already has two starts under her belt on the young season, pitching in a 7-1 loss at the hands of UNC Charlotte and a 5-4 loss against Toledo in which she combined to toss 15 innings while allowing nine earned runs.
In both games, Colleran gave up a fair amount of hits (nine and 11) but she only walked three and showed she could go deep into games.
Carbone doesn’t have the collegiate experience that Colleran possesses, as she made the transition to the mound this offseason after playing in the field during her first three years with the Minutewomen. However, she was a pitcher in high school and Stefanoni has already used her as a starter this season in UMass’ 9-8 loss against Youngstown State where she went five innings, giving up eight hits and five earned runs.
Klee put her foot in the door as a pitcher for the Minutewomen last season. She made two appearances, in which she threw a total of three innings, giving up five hits and four earned runs. While her body of work from last year is small and she is the only one out of the three without a start yet this season, Stefanonoi said Klee will get her chances on the mound this season.
With a five-game weekend coming up in the ECU Pirates Clash tournament, it’s important for someone at the top of the rotation to establish themselves as a legitimate, consistent No. 1 starter for UMass before the start of Atlantic 10 play in late March.
“We need consistency, someone who can get us ground balls and mix in a strike out,” Stefanoni said.
Until this happens, it appears that there will be a committee of starters for the Minutewomen early on in 2016.
Zach Larkin can be reached at [email protected].
