After competing in the Campbell Stampede to open its season, the Massachusetts softball team headed to Austin, Texas to participate in the Bevo Classic hosted by No. 1 Texas. This tournament is UMass’ (3-4) first big challenge of the season, as they face Maryland, No. 11 Texas Tech and the top-ranked Longhorns.
The Minutewomen couldn’t find a victory on Friday, falling short to the Terrapins (4-2) and the Red Raiders (6-1) and extending their loss streak to four after winning their first three games of the season.
The squad started off the day getting shut out against Maryland, losing 4-0. UMass only mustered two hits off of Terrapins pitcher Aubrey Wurst, who struck out nine on the day, quieting the Minutewomen. Both hits for UMass came from freshman second baseman Lily Woodworth, who doubled to left field in the bottom of the first and tripled down the left field line in the bottom of the third. As a freshman, Woodworth is making a big impact on offense early with a .333 batting average and six RBIs, which leads the team.
Despite Wurst not letting any runs across the plate, the Minutewomen were patient at bat, drawing six free passes on the day. The offense couldn’t cash in on any of these opportunities, though, leaving seven runners stranded, four of which were in scoring position.
Natalee Horton got the start for UMass in this game.The junior pitched the first six innings with Hannah Streicher coming out in relief in the seventh inning after Horton gave up a walk and a single. Horton scattered 13 hits to Maryland and struck out eight, working out of several jams to keep her team in the competition, but the offense couldn’t provide the support needed to win the game.
The Minutewomen then went on to face off against their first ranked opponent of the season, No. 11 Texas Tech, which ended in a 17-4 five-inning loss.
Although UMass headed into this game as the underdogs, they competed with the Red Raiders through the first three innings. After Texas Tech put up the first run of the game in the top of the second off Julianne Bolton, it was quickly answered by three runs in the bottom of the inning. Katherine Heslin led off the inning for the Minutewomen with a single to left-center, and she then advanced to second on an error by the Red Raiders shortstop. Another single by Ella Stevinson followed, and two more errors eventually gave UMass a 3-1 lead.
The lead didn’t last long though, as Texas Tech started off the top of the third by getting enough runners on base to tie the game at three.
Bolton returned to the mound for the top of the fourth, but couldn’t finish the inning, surrendering three runs and only recording one out. Inheriting a runner at second base, the replacement Olivia Cutuli couldn’t stop the Red Raiders’ red–hot offense either, allowing four more runs for a total of seven in the inning before striking out the last batter.
The Minutewomen came up empty in the bottom of the fourth, allowing Texas Tech to go back to work on offense. The No. 11 team was still on a roll from the last inning, tallying on an additional seven runs in the fifth and putting the final blow on UMass. The Minutewomen put across one more run in the bottom of the fifth when Heslin doubled in Odyssey Torres, but it wasn’t enough to stop a mercy rule.
UMass will try to bounce back on Saturday when it faces the Red Raiders again at noon, and it will then challenge the No. 1 team in the country in Texas at 5 p.m.. The game against the Longhorns can be viewed on SEC Network+.
Rosie Follet can be reached at [email protected].
