After a hard-fought comeback effort, the Massachusetts softball team outlasted Dartmouth 10-7 on the road Wednesday afternoon.
The Minutewomen (11-24, 4-7 Atlantic 10) battled throughout the game after trailing by seven runs through four innings. The offense, headed by three two-RBI performances from Lydia Castro, Odyssey Torres and Katharine Heslin, kept UMass in the game. Despite having fewer hits than the Big Green (15-14, 8-4 Ivy), the Minutewomen lineup worked counts and moved the line by earning eight walks and striking out just twice.
Heading into extra innings, UMass looked to continue its offensive success, searching for its first lead of the game. After Sophia Thormeyer grounded out to second, Lily Woodworth delivered the first hit in extras, smacking a double to left field. The extra-base hit set up a huge moment for Castro. Stepping up to the plate for one of the biggest moments of the game, the senior continued to do what the offense had been doing all game: finding the right pitch to hit.
With a two-ball, one-strike count, the catcher got the green light and mashed the ball over the outfield fence, delivering a two-run home run to give the Minutewomen their first lead of the game.
Riley Kairer followed suit with a triple to left field on the first pitch of the at-bat. Providing some extra insurance, Torres capitalized on the triple from Kairer with a sacrifice fly, bringing in the tenth run of the game for UMass and extending its lead to three. The three-run extra inning capped off 10 unanswered runs for the Minutewomen.
Discipline at the plate helped UMass score six runs to tie the game, as five of the runs came with two outs in the inning. With a speedy Brooke Musch occupying third, Thormeyer started the scoring with a bloop single to left field, pushing right past the third base line and scoring Musch. Castro and Woodworth helped fill the bases with two walks, leading to a passed ball from Dartmouth pitcher Isabel Kirby that scored Thormeyer.
It was music to the Minutewomen’s ears when Torres and Heslin recorded base hits with the bases loaded, bringing in three runs to trim the lead. To close the inning, UMass earned a free run off of a bases loaded walk that brought Torres in to tie the game.
Dartmouth had an opportunity to close out the game in the bottom of the seventh with a bases-loaded opportunity, but the Minutewomen made huge defensive plays to prevent any runs from scoring. Hannah Streicher got the second out of the inning at home plate with a quick toss to Castro, stopping a run from scoring. A similar play came from Riain Keefe in right field as she quickly recovered a popup and lasered the ball into the hands of Castro once again to prevent another run.
Like the Minutewomen, Dartmouth played small ball to advance runners and kept the line moving early on. After taking an early 2-0 lead in the second inning, thanks to a solo home run from Scarlet Niles and an RBI single from Alaana Panu, the Big Green went on a tear offensively in the fourth inning. Starting with her second hit of the day, Panu earned two RBI with a single up the middle, scoring Lauren Ben-Ezra and Georgia Bilski. With the bases still loaded, Olivia Schramm cleared the bases with a double to left-center field as Panu, Ben-Ezra and Faby Serna hurried home to push the Dartmouth lead to 7-0.
Streicher earned her fourth win on the season for the Minutewomen with a dominant relief effort. The sophomore pitcher worked 4.2 scoreless innings in the circle, along with four strikeouts.
The Minutewomen have a short turnaround as they head back home for a three-game conference series against Loyola Chicago. First pitch for Friday’s doubleheader is scheduled for 2 p.m. The games can be streamed on ESPN+.
Benito Marinero-Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected] and can be followed on X @bmrodriguez12.
