The Massachusetts softball team lost two of its three games to Saint Louis on Saturday and Sunday, a series that ends the Minutewomen’s (8-17, 3-2 Atlantic 10) undefeated record in A-10 play.
The Billikens (11-14, 3-2 Atlantic 10) entered the weekend series on a three-game winning streak and were looking to capitalize on the momentum they had built. Both offenses were potent, with each team having 20 hits or more over the three-game stretch.
“We were turning on it,” head coach Danielle Henderson said. “[We] had a good game plan coming in and we did a good job with it.”
Sunday’s game wasn’t a display of that potency, with the Minutewomen tallying one hit over seven innings of action. Discipline at the plate allowed UMass to draw five walks and remain competitive in the matinee.
The Minutewomen’s pitching allowed four hits while walking two batters, giving the UMass offense chances to take control of the game. Two of the four hits allowed by the Minutewomen were solo home runs, which was all the Billikens needed to win the rubber match 2-1.
“We battled,” Henderson said. “[Sunday] we just weren’t able to get across as many runs as we needed to.”
Both games on Saturday were distinctly different; the winning team in each of those contests won by six runs.
In the second of the two games on Saturday, UMass scored 16 runs, aided by seven errors committed by Saint Louis. The Minutewomen took every chance they could find to score, as half of their 16 runs were unearned. UMass committed no errors the entire weekend.
First baseman Kendra Allen carried the load offensively in the 16 run explosion, driving home six in her three at-bats. That proved to be the difference, as the Billikens scored 10 of their own, with five of those runs coming on three home runs.
“Saint Louis, some of [its] hitters are just able to put a good swing on it,” Henderson said. “[The pitchers] kept battling.”
By the end of the series, UMass had given up nine home runs over the three-game stretch. These nine round-trippers accounted for 13 of the 21 runs that the Billikens scored.
Saturday’s mid-day game was a missed opportunity for the Minutewomen, as they left eight runners on base in a 9-3 loss. UMass was outhit 10-9 in the loss, and Saint Louis was able to take advantage of the runners they had on base.
Again, it was Allen who stood out, garnering two hits and an RBI and never leaving a runner stranded. For the weekend, she accounted for a third of the Minutewomen’s runs, driving in seven of their 20. Kristina Day had an on-base percentage of .600 on the weekend, while Chloe Whittier had a .333 batting average.
UMass pitchers accumulated 23 strikeouts over the three games, 10 more than the Billikens were able to manage. It also walked seven runners over 21 innings of work, with Julianne Bolton walking two over her 10 innings.
“We played well,” Henderson said. “We went from a high scoring game [on Saturday] to a low scoring game [on Sunday], but I thought they played well.”
UMass’ next series is against Maine in a two-game set on Wednesday from Sortino field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Johnny Depin can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @jdepin101.
