Reunited and it doesn’t feel so good. The Massachusetts softball team fell to Lowell, head coach Danielle Henderson’s former team on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 3-2. The Minutewomen (16-24, 9-6 Atlantic 10) were held hitless until the fourth inning, with the loss snapping their previous four-game winning streak.
UMass ended the game with two runs, both coming in the bottom of the fourth. Its lead was short-lived, as the River Hawks’ (21-12, 5-1 America East) added two of their own in the top of the fifth inning, before another run was added in the top of the sixth. This was all UMass Lowell needed, as it won 3-2.
Pitcher Jessie DiPasquale cruised through the first four innings, racking up seven strikeouts. Despite not allowing a run in these innings, there was a lot of traffic on the basepaths, with six runners being left on base. DiPasquale stranded the runners in each of the first four innings, holding the River Hawks at bay.
“[DiPasquale] has been hitting her spots better and better, she keeps improving” Henderson said. “She’s gotta keep it up.”
DiPasquale went the distance for the Minutewomen, finishing with nine strikeouts over her seven innings. She continued to be rock solid for UMass, as her ERA dropped below 4.00 for the first time since March 4. DiPasquale has not allowed over three earned runs in an outing since her performance against Fordham, where she gave up seven runs.
The Minutewomen offense was stagnant through the first three innings, with one runner reaching base through the first nine outs. Four of UMass’ eventual five hits occurred in the fourth inning, with it totaling nine base runners in the contest. Compared to Tuesday, the Minutewomen offensive production lacked on Wednesday, with them totaling 10 hits over seven innings in their win against the University of Rhode Island.
UMass Lowell had 11 base runners over the contest, with over half of them coming in the first three innings. The River Hawks capitalized on their few hits in the later innings, with their three runs coming in the fifth and sixth inning. Third baseman Grace Cadden was the only Minutewomen with multiple hits, having two.
“I thought we battled, I told them that [UMass] Lowell was [going to] battle and they had to fight back,” Henderson said. “I thought that we did [battle], and we have to take that into this weekend.”
It was a sour reunion for Henderson, who coached UMass Lowell from 2015 to 2021. During her tenure as head coach for the River Hawks, she won an America East regular season championship and was named AEC coach of the year twice, in 2017 and 2019. She ended her time at UMass Lowell with a record of 118-163, with a 56-45 record in AEC games. Henderson finished second or better with the River Hawks in three of her seven seasons as head coach.
“[It was] business as usual,” Henderson said. “I feel like I had a little more inside info, I know [its] hitters, I know [its] pitchers, you just have to watch and see that everything is the same [on the diamond].”
UMass has won six of its last 10, and goes back into A-10 play, facing Saint Joseph’s in a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday at Sortino field. The Minutewomen have won their previous three A-10 contests, sweeping St. Bonaventure the previous weekend. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 12 p.m.
Johnny Depin can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @jdepin101.
