Despite a strong comeback effort, the Massachusetts softball team fell to its future Mid-American Conference foe, the Kent State Golden Flashes, 10-9, on the final day of the Camel Stampede tournament on Sunday.
After Julianne Bolton gave up eight runs to push the Golden Flash (2-3) lead to 8-3 in the second inning, head coach Danielle Henderson turned to Natalee Horton, sparking the Minutewomen (3-2) comeback attempt. Horton kept UMass in the game, pitching four scoreless innings while striking out seven batters in the process.
Trailing by a single run heading into the seventh, the Minutewomen began with a pop out to the infield by Angie Rama, followed by a four-pitch walk by Riain Keefe. Stepping up to the plate was freshman Brooke Musch in a big moment. After going down two strikes, Musch mashed a triple out to left center field, bringing home Keefe to tie the score 8-8. Fellow freshman Lily Woodworth followed suit with a RBI triple, sending the ball out to center field. With Musch walking into home plate, UMass took the 9-8 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Minutewomen defense played a relatively clean game, committing one error through six innings. Everything started to unravel in the seventh, though, as UMass committed four errors, starting with a catcher’s interference in the second play of the inning. After Kent State’s Savannah Wing reached first off of the error from the catcher, Kam Utendorf reached on a throwing error from Horton after placing a sacrifice bunt to move the runner. As a result of the error, Utendorf advanced to second, while Wing reached home plate, tying the game late in the seventh, 9-9.
Following a strikeout from Horton, Minutewoman Sophia Thormeyer committed a throwing error, attempting to throw out Kendal Leitner at first, putting runners on the corners with two outs remaining. The Golden Flash capitalized once again from another error as Delaney Robeson earned the game-winning RBI from a throwing error by Odyssey Torres, scoring Utendorf, who also reached base off an error earlier in the inning.
Despite the loss, the Minutewomen offense had a solid performance, chipping away at a five-run deficit each inning with patience and getting on base and moving the line. With the only extra-base hits coming at the end of the game, earning walks was a key part in reducing the lead. UMass walked eight times as Riley Kairer lead the way with three. Four other players had at least one walk as well. Eight players that went up to bat had at least one hit, led by Torres and Keefe with two hits each. RBI wealth also spread through the team, with six players earning at least one RBI, Torres and Keefe each with two RBIs.
At the conclusion of the tournament, the freshmen for the Minutewomen showed out. The group of Musch, Woodworth and Thormeyer combined for 19 hits and 14 RBIs through five games. The freshmen stepped up for a roster that had a significant overhaul after losing seven seniors from last season, many of them that provided a significant amount of offensive production last season. As Henderson continues to look for options to fill her lineup throughout the season, the three youngsters showed what they are capable of when their names are called during this tournament.
UMass looks to build off a 3-2 record from the Camel Stampede as they head down to Texas for the Bevo Classic, where it will face a tough test in Texas, Texas Tech and Maryland. The three-day tournament begins with a doubleheader against Maryland, with first pitch scheduled at 12 p.m., and Texas Tech, first pitch scheduled at 2:30 p.m.
Benito Marinero-Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected] and can be followed on X @bmrodriguez12.
