After a slow start to begin conference play, the Massachusetts softball team looks to right the ship with a weekend series on the road in Fairfax, Virginia against George Mason.
The Minutewomen (6-21, 1-5 Atlantic 10) enter the series following a 4-1 midweek road loss to Bryant, extending their losing streak to three games. They struggled to capitalize on runners on base, leaving the bases loaded early on in the third inning and five runners overall. The sole run came from a sacrifice fly to left field from freshman Brooke Musch in the fifth inning, bringing in Grace Colucci for her fifth RBI of the season.
The Patriots (13-18, 5-1 A-10) suffered a similar fate, falling to Towson 4-3 at home. George Mason took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI single from freshman Madi Sobota and a sacrifice groundout from Logan Pickford. The lead was quickly erased in the fifth inning as pitcher Harlowe Nigh allowed four runs and the game to the Tigers.
The weekend series against the Patriots marks the 17th time the two teams faced off, with UMass leading the series 10-6. George Mason has gotten the better of the Minutewomen as of late, winning three of the last four games they played against each other.
Offensive production favors the Patriots as they rank fourth in the A-10 in RBIs with 129 RBIs and tied for third in the league with 16 home runs. On the other hand, UMass ranks last in both categories with 43 RBIs and two home runs. The ability to put the ball in play and capitalize on base runners is key for either team to pull out a favorable result this weekend.
George Mason’s lineup is nothing to count out as six different players have reached double-digit RBI numbers, with Pickford leading the way with 19 RBIs. Tess Altevers Harris isn’t far behind with 18 RBIs and Sobota with 16 RBIs. Sobota also leads the team with five home runs, followed by Pickford with four and Altevers Harris with three.
For the Minutewomen, the first and second-year members have contributed early on as sophomore Odyssey Torres has a team-high 12 RBIs and a home run, while freshman Lily Woodworth champions the hitting department with a team-high 20 hits and a .247 batting average. Getting any sort of production from the younger players is a huge help for the lineup to keep up with one of the better offenses in the A-10.
Looking at the pitching side, both teams matchup well with the Patriots gaining the slight upper hand on their opponent. The Patriots hold a 3.55 ERA, ranking second in the conference with the Minutewomen not trailing much farther with a 4.51 ERA, putting them in the middle of the pack at sixth. Alongside that, George Mason is missing bats as it is second in the A-10 in opponent batting average with .271 while opposing teams are batting .300 against UMass, putting it near the bottom of the league in seventh.
Freshman Abbey Lane captains the pitching staff for the Patriots, besting the others in ERA with 2.73 and strikeouts with 39 strikeouts. Lane has four complete games on the season with a 10-inning game in a 7-5 extra inning loss to Rhode Island at home. Along with four wins on the season, Lane is making a name for herself early on in her collegiate career.
Senior pitching standout Julianne Bolton is off to a strong start for the Minutewomen as she leads the team in nearly every statistical category, boasting a 3.46 ERA alongside three wins and 49 strikeouts. She also is also on program history-watch as Bolton sits ninth-all time in Minutewomen history in strikeout with 358, trailing Meg Colleran at eighth with 380.
The Saturday, March 29 doubleheader begins an eight-game road trip for UMass, while it is game two of a six-game homestand for George Mason. First pitch for game one is 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m for game two.
Benito Marinero-Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected] and can be followed on X @bmrodriguez12.
