In sports, every streak eventually finds its end. For the Massachusetts softball team, on a rainy, 40-degree day in Brighton, Massachusetts, the stage was set for their 10-game win streak to finally hit its wall.
UMass (20-11, 9-0 Atlantic 10) had their bats silenced in their 3-0 loss to Boston College (20-15, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) on Tuesday afternoon. Aside from a Jena Cozza single and Amy Smith’s two base-hits, the bats were as cold as the weather.
“We didn’t show up to play softball at all,” said head coach Kristi Stefanoni. “For a team that can put up some serious numbers at the plate, we didn’t show them who we truly are. Again, we didn’t show up to play.”
BC’s performance at the plate was nothing special, however it got the job done.
It began with Eagles third baseman Emme Martinez’s RBI single in the first inning off of UMass starter Kiara Oliver to make it 1-0 BC.
In the third inning when BC added on two runs the first of which being a CC Cook single that resulted in an error by Cozza at third base causing a runner to score and then a groundout by Martinez to second base that saw Cook score the third and final run of the game for BC to make it 3-0.
Despite giving up an earned run in the first inning, Oliver would settle in nicely as both runs allowed with her on the circle in the third were from errors and therefore unearned. She went six strong innings, giving up five hits and six strikeouts to boast. Her strikeouts helped her break the 100-strikeout mark for the season as her current total stands at 104.
Unfortunately for Oliver, the lack of run support would cost her the loss and her record going to 11-3 on the season.
“I told Kiara at the end of the game that I thought she settled in very nicely,” said Stefanoni. “After the first inning, I think she walked two people, she had some really good strikeouts and got us groundballs as well as some routine fly balls. I thought she did really well.”
The Minutewomen’s best chance of the day at scoring runs came in the sixth with two outs when Smith earned her second hit of the day, putting two women on base. Ultimately, they were left stranded.
Cozza had one hit on the day but also continued her painful trend of getting hit by pitches as BC hit her twice increasing her season count of hit-by-pitches to 18 which broke the single-season hit-by-pitch mark previously held by Scooter Wheeler (2001).
“I’m thinking about moving her around the lineup because of it,” exclaimed a chuckling Stefanoni. “She’s wearing an arm guard and now a knee guard. It stinks and it’s unfortunate but at least it gives us a base runner.”
Evan Marinofsky can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @emarinofsky.
