The Massachusetts softball team defeated Rhode Island over the weekend in a two-game series to open up Atlantic 10 play.
The first game was a battle for the Minutewomen (7-14, 2-0 A-10). The two teams went wire-to-wire right until the end when the Rams (5-15, 1-4 A-10) tied things up in the seventh inning at seven runs apiece. The two sides were deadlocked at seven and headed into extra innings. Over the course of ten innings, UMass pulled ahead with one run in the top of the tenth to claim the victory.
“We knew [URI] were going to battle and we were trying to win every single inning.” UMass coach Danielle Henderson said. “I thought the team did great in the first game and held our composure defensively. We played great [defense] and we got it done.”
In the second game, UMass again got on the boards first early and gained a comfortable lead. For the first three innings, both teams managed to hold each sides offense at bay.
It wasn’t until the fourth inning when Chloe Whittier brought in Payge Suggs for the first run of the game thanks to a line drive up the middle. The offensive momentum continued as Kendra Allen drove in Whittier to give the Minutewomen a 2-0 lead.
Henderson felt UMass did a good job getting on the board with runs due to how they were able to read the pitcher and make good use of their times at bat.
“They were able to make an adjustment with [URI’s pitchers] and they were able to start getting a lot of singles and doubles with it and hitting the gaps,” Henderson said. “So they just adjusted quicker to the location where she was throwing.”
Following suit with the fourth inning, the Minutewomen scored five runs in the fifth to increase their lead to 7-0. Kristina Day started the offensive slugfest off with a triple giving the Minutewomen an early baserunner in scoring position. The Rams’ defense limited the chance for a quick outburst with two quick outs, holding Day at third. Despite the solid defense, UMass rallied with two outs and continued to round the bases.
URI was forced to switch pitchers out towards the end of the inning, bringing on Cameron Whiteford for Liz Lynchard. This didn’t stop the Minutewomen on offense as Jules Shields brought in two more runners with the bases loaded thanks to a hit up the middle of the infield..
UMass kept its 7-0 lead until the bottom of the sixth inning when URI gained two runs of its own. With a runner on third base, Cassie Swenson hit the ball right at pitcher Julianna Bolton who tried to get the ball back to the plate as quickly as possible, but Sami Villarreal beat her to the bag. The Rams salvaged a couple runs in that inning, but it wasn’t enough to give UMass’ lead a scare.
The Minutewomen kept URI at two runs for the remainder of the game and tallied another run in the seventh inning when Day ripped a single past Swenson at shortstop and into left field. Allen came in to score off the hit.
UMass hung onto its six-run cushion to beat sweep the Rams in the series finale by a score of 8-2. The Minutewomen next take on Boston College at home with first pitch set for 3 p.m.
Bri Repetto can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @RepettoBri.
