Coming off a Saturday sweep of the George Mason Patriots, the Massachusetts softball team has now seen two home games postponed in a row due to inclement weather.
Sunday’s series finale against the Patriots was canceled due to rain, something that has happened quite often for sports played on the diamond this spring.
Tuesday’s matchup against Connecticut is a different story. It has already been postponed because of a Monday snowstorm that blanketed Sortino field in Amherst with multiple inches of snow.
“This cancelation is terribly unexpected,” coach Kristi Stefanoni said. “We always want to play.”
As of Monday night, there had been no makeup date announced for the matchup. The Minutewomen and Huskies are next scheduled to meet on April 19 in Storrs, Connecticut.
The April snow has come at a time when the Minutewomen are starting to heat up. UMass (9-18 overall, 3-2 Atlantic 10) have won three of four games including a win against Fordham a few weeks ago and two wins against George Mason this past weekend.
Individually, Taylor Carbone has wielded a hot bat over the past few games. She has driven in five runs in two games and has improved her season batting average to .348 with four home runs and 21 RBIs. She leads the team in long balls and her 21 runs batted are 12 more than the second most on the team.
Stefanoni is not worried about keeping Carbone and the rest of the offense in stride.
“You can work on hitting in a broom closet if you wanted to, but we have cages in Boyden” she said.
According to Stefanoni, defense and pitching are another story.
“We have gotten in a groove defensively and the challenge is going from cleats back to shoes” Stefanoni said.
Stefanoni and the rest of the Minutewomen know that sometimes playing softball at a college in New England results in curveballs from mother nature, but adjusting on the fly is all they can do.
“We are going to get an extra practice day out of this, we will work on the small stuff,” Stefanoni said.
Colleran earns A-10 honors
Sophomore Meg Colleran is trending up after a stellar weekend on the mound against George Mason. She won both games, allowing just one run total and striking out six in 12 innings of work over two appearances. She gave up a single hit and recorded a shutout in game one against the Patriots, and continued her dominance in game two by allowing just a single unearned run.
Colleran’s performance earned her A-10 Pitcher of the week honors, the second time this season she has earned the award.
Weather permitting, the Minutewomen will be back in action on Thursday, when they break from A-10 play to travel Chestnut Hill and take on Boston College. Beyond that game, UMass is due back at home on Saturday to take on Saint Joseph’s.
Zach Larkin can be reached at [email protected]
