The Massachusetts softball team welcomed Rhode Island to Amherst, MA, on Wednesday for a doubleheader matchup. It was a tale of two games at Sortino Field, but the Minutewomen (11-29, 4-12 Atlantic 10) dropped both games against the conference opponent.
Game one began with immediate offense from UMass, as Lydia Castro began the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. The senior roped a single into right field, bringing home her teammate Brooke Musch. While the Minutewomen got a run off the sophomore pitcher early, the Rams’ (11-28, 5-14 A-10) Avery Vale-Cruz regained control of the contest, tossing a complete game and six scoreless innings.
Rhode Island took the lead in the top of the third, as junior Kylie Bulinski hit a two-run single down the right field line. The Rams’ Emily Power expanded the lead on a sacrifice fly that scored her teammate, Noelle Sterner, as Rhode Island added an insurance run in the sixth inning on a throwing error by UMass shortstop Odyssey Torres.
Game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader ended with a 4-1 final score in favor of the Rams. Vale-Cruz (3-4) picked up the win in her first complete game of the season, while Hannah Streicher’s (3-7) fourth complete game ended in a loss.
Game two began slightly earlier than its scheduled 5 p.m. start time, and it made up for all the offense lost in the first match.
Although the game started with two scoreless innings, both teams’ bats began to heat up shortly after. Rhode Island broke the ice in the top of the third inning, scoring three of what ended in a final tally of 16 runs between the two teams.
In the bottom half of the same inning, the Minutewomen responded with three runs of their own. Freshman Lily Woodworth brought UMass its first run home on a sacrifice fly, and fellow freshman Katharine Heslin tied the game on a two RBI double.
Minutewomen pitcher Olivia Cutuli escaped a jam in the top of the fourth inning, and the UMass lineup followed that up with three solid at-bats to load the bases. The Rams called to the bullpen, pulling starting pitcher Ashley Hibbard in favor of senior Katie Zaun.
Zaun faced Minutewomen outfielder Riley Kairer, who walked on four pitches to regain the lead. The one-run lead quickly expanded to three as Castro, who had the lone RBI for UMass in game one, picked up two more on a double that smacked the wall in center field. Heslin picked up the final Minutewomen run on a single that brought Castro home.
One Rhode Island player scored in the fifth inning off a sacrifice fly from Natalie Maleitzke. On the following pitch, a hard-hit ball towards UMass’ Sophia Thormeyer ended the inning in controversy. Thormeyer fielded the ground ball and dove towards the second base bag, before losing the ball at some point around her impact with the base.
The Rams’ baserunner was originally ruled safe, scoring a run at home. Incensed, head coach Danielle Henderson met with umpires, who eventually overturned the call, ending the inning in favor of the Minutewomen, 7-4.
UMass was held scoreless in the bottom of the fifth inning. In the top of the sixth, Rhode Island charged back with the momentum they built in the previous inning. The Rams cited Cutuli for four runs that included a bases-loaded walk to surrender the lead. Now down 8-7, Henderson made a call to the bullpen.
Streicher, who pitched all seven innings of game one, returned to game two in the bottom of the sixth inning. Streicher got UMass out of the inning, but not before Rhode Island scored on a single from Casey Miller that travelled up the middle of the infield. This was its fifth run of the inning, and the Rams held the lead at 9-7.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and Minutewomen baserunners on the corners, Thormeyer roped a would-be hit in between first and second base. The ball rolled past the Rhode Island infielders, but not past the UMass baserunner Heslin, as it clipped her foot and ended the inning on an out.
The Minutewomen had one more chance at redemption after Streicher held the Rams scoreless through the top of the seventh inning. Interestingly, Rhode Island head coach Mike Coutts made a similar decision to Henderson, as he brought in Vale-Cruz, who pitched a complete game earlier in the day, to close out the contest. Vale-Cruz gave up a single in the inning but regained control, striking out Musch to end the game and earn her first save of the season.
Julianne Bolton started the game for UMass, but Cutuli (2-1) picked up the loss. Rams’ Brooke Gerry (1-2) picked up the win.
Rhode Island earned two key in-conference wins on Wednesday as the regular season winds down, but the Minutewomen still have some opportunities to improve their record before the A-10 tournament.
UMass’s first chance at conference redemption comes in a three-game series against Fordham, beginning on Saturday, April 26, for a doubleheader, with start times at noon and 2:30 p.m. The third game will be played on Sunday, April 27 at noon.
Matt Kotfila can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X at @mattkotfila.
