The Massachusetts softball team will have to wait another day to continue its chase for an Atlantic 10 championship, as rain pounded Northern Virginia and forced the conference to cancel Thursday’s game.
Initially scheduled to face Saint Joseph’s (24-26, 12-7 A-10) on Thursday afternoon, UMass (26-22, 13-6 A-10) will instead face the Hawks in a second round matchup at 12:30 p.m on Friday.
The Minutewomen are the number two seed in this year’s tournament, after finishing conference play with a 13-6 record. A win against St. Joe’s will send UMass to the next round to face the winner of No. 1 Fordham/No. 5 Saint Louis, but a loss would leave the Minutewomen fighting for their season in the loser’s bracket in the tournament’s double elimination style format.
This year’s A-10 championship is being held at the George Mason softball complex on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Minutewomen honored
Several members of the UMass softball team earned conference accolades this week, as the Atlantic 10 announced its softball awards on Wednesday
Junior Meg Colleran earned the highest honors of any Minutewoman, taking home her second consecutive All-A-10 First Team honors. Colleran has been stellar all season for UMass and was particularly impressive in conference play, compiling a 10-4 record with a 2.24 earned run average according to a UMass Athletics press release.
Sophomore Kaycee Carbone was named All-Conference Second Team at second base, as well as the All-Academic team. Hitting fourth in the UMass lineup for most of the year, Carbone hit .299 with three home runs and 17 runs batted in while fielding her position well at second base.
The All-Conference Second Team outfield was crowded with Minutewomen, with sophomore Erin Stacevicz and senior Tara Klee earning honors in centerfield and leftfield, respectively.
Freshman Candace Denis rounded out the awards with an All-Rookie Team selection. The lone two-way player for UMass, Denis was 8-8 with a 3.02 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 120.2 innings in the circle, while hitting .295 with 12 RBIs at the plate. Denis also swiped 24 bases this season, good for third in the conference and best among rookies.
Senior Jena Cozza, who hit an impressive .444 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in just 19 games this season, likely did not play enough games to qualify for honors this season, after missing the team’s first 29 games with a knee injury.
Amin Touri can be reached at [email protected].
