The Massachusetts softball team completed a sweep of its Atlantic 10 competitor, George Mason, on Saturday to clinch the squad’s first series win of the season.
After winning the first game of day 2-1, the Minutewomen (8-22, 3-6 A-10) found themselves with a four-run deficit heading into the top of the seventh. But freshman Katharine Heslin wouldn’t let her team go down without a fight, as she launched her first career home run over the left field fence, fueling a comeback that led to a 6-5 victory.
The scoring for UMass didn’t stop there, as Brooke Musch and Riain Keefe produced back-to-back singles, followed by a walk to Odyssey Torres to load the bases. Musch then scored on a wild pitch, bringing the deficit to two. Lily Woodworth stepped up to the plate and came through with a two-RBI single to tie the game at five apiece.
The Minutewomen and the Patriots (14-20, 6-3 A-10) stayed knotted up for two more intense innings, until the top of the ninth when UMass broke through. Musch led off the inning reaching on a bunt and then advanced to second thanks to a sacrifice bunt from Keefe.
Woodworth stepped up to the plate once again and came up big for her team. The freshman hit the ball over the first baseman’s head. With two outs, Musch was running on contact and safely made it home to take a 6-5 lead.
Hannah Streicher went the distance for the Minutewomen in the circle, pitching all nine innings and only allowing one earned run, bringing her to her first win of the season. The sophomore’s ERA now sits at 3.17, which is the lowest of the pitching staff. The righty surrendered six hits through nine innings, accompanied by six strikeouts and only two free passes.
Earlier in the day, UMass picked up a 2-1 victory over George Mason, with the home run ball being a factor once again. The Minutewomen’s Julianne Bolton and the Patriots’ Kylie Wilkerson battled it out in the circle. Neither starter allowed any runs through the first six innings of play. But that all changed when Torres stepped up to the plate and smashed a home run to left field to break the ice and put her team on the board.
UMass was tallied on another run in the seventh when Angie Rama kept the inning going with a single to right field. Taylor Richardson was brought on to pinch run and then was brought home by a Keefe single to improve the score to 2-0.
George Mason did answer with one run off of Bolton in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough for the victory. Bolton displayed another stellar performance for the Minutewomen, allowing just three hits and kept the Patriots’ offense at bay to help UMass eventually get on the scoreboard.
On Sunday, the Minutewomen couldn’t complete the series sweep, coming up short in a 3-2 battle. George Mason started the scoring in the third when Tess Altevers Harris blasted a three-run home run off Bolton in the circle.
UMass got one run back in the fourth thanks to a Sophia Thormeyer sacrifice fly that scored Musch. Torres tried to be the hero once again in the seventh when she fired off her third home run of the season, but it wasn’t enough to erase the two-run deficit. This was the shortstop’s third home run of the season, which leads her team.
The Minutewomen have recorded five home runs on the season, with four of those coming from the two freshmen, Torres and Heslin, and the other from graduate student Sarah Keagy.
UMass will look to continue its hot streak when they travel to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College on Wednesday, April 2, with first pitch at 4 p.m.
Rosie Follet can be reached at [email protected].
