The Massachusetts softball team continued its slow start to the season with three more losses Saturday and Sunday after falling to North Florida in a doubleheader Friday.
The Minutewomen (0-5) put up a stronger performance on Sunday against Colgate but eventually lost with a score of 3-2 in eight innings. UMass fell to Jacksonville in both double header games on Saturday. The Dolphins (2-1) secured a 13-1 victory in five innings in the first matchup and shutout the Minutewomen for an 8-0 win in six innings in the second game.
UMass found themselves in the best position they had all weekend with a clutch double from Riley Kairer to left center field in the top of the sixth inning, which drove in both Lily Woodworth and Katharine Heslin to tie the game 2-2.
The strong offensive push from the Minutewomen began in the sixth with a single from Riain Keefe. Heslin reached first on a fielder’s choice to get Keefe out at second, but advanced to second base after Woodworth was hit by a pitch. Kairer went 2-2 on Sunday with a single to center field in the fifth inning, the first UMass hit of the day.
“I thought [Kairer’s hits] were great,” head coach Danielle Henderson said. “She hit just like she’s capable of, like we know she can.”
The game ended in the bottom of the eighth inning when the Raiders’ (2-3) Alexa Acker bunted Mia Cascio, who stood on second base due to the international tiebreaker rule, over to third base. A single that didn’t quite get through the infield from Nora Megenity was just enough for the speedy Cascio to score the game-winning run for Colgate.
Despite the heartbreaking ending, Hannah Streicher’s relief pitching was a highlight for the Minutewomen. Streicher was pulled from the first matchup against Jacksonville on Saturday after allowing five runs in the third inning. The Sparta, N.J. native had four strikeouts in three innings, including back-to-back punchouts for the first two batters she faced.
“I thought [Streicher] pitched well,” Henderson said. “She came in, and she turned it around from [Saturday]. [Saturday] she was unhappy with her performance, so she was going to come out and give it her all.”
UMass was able to limit the runs against it in the contest against the Raiders, something it struggled to do on Saturday. On Sunday, a two-run home run from Colgate’s Analisa Raffaelli were the first runs scored of the game, and the only runs scored for it until its walk-off win in the bottom of the eighth. The matchup showed a good response from the Minutewomen’s defense that spiraled after the home runs on Saturday.
“We showed up a lot calmer and a lot closer to who we are as a team [on Sunday],” Henderson said. “I thought that our bats were better, our defense was better, our pitching was better.”
Saturday ended with two losses for UMass. The Minutewomen left the Dolphins scoreless in the first two innings of the first game. They found their game in the bottom of the third, tallying eight runs from six hits, then putting up five more runs in the fourth to secure the win.
Despite the tough stretch in the final two innings, UMass did manage to score against Jacksonville first. Riain Keefe hit a single in the top of the first inning before advancing to second base on a wild pitch from Dolphin’s pitcher Jordan White. Junior Lillie Scheivert drove in Keefe with a single to right field to put up the Minutewomen’s only run of the double header.
UMass cycled through four different pitchers to get through the two games on Saturday. Streicher started the first game on the mound but was replaced by Olivia Cutuli after Jacksonville’s Tatum McCool hammered a three-run home run to center field. Eliana Raposo went in to relieve Cutuli, but only faced one batter, who grounded out to end the long bottom of the fourth inning for its defense.
One of the only other scoring chances for the Minutewomen came when Brooke Musch stood at third base in the top of the third inning. Musch walked and then stole second base to get into scoring position, eventually reaching third after Keefe grounded out to the pitcher. A fly ball to left field from sophomore Heslin ended the inning, leaving Musch stranded at third base before the Dolphins dominated the bottom of the third.
Kelsey Blanchette pitched the entirety of the second matchup against Jacksonville, throwing 100 pitches and giving up 12 hits. Blanchette and the rest of the UMass squad managed to hold the Dolphins to only two runs until the fourth inning, when two doubles from freshmen Jaida Thomas and Madisyn Weathers drove in four runs for Jacksonville.
“[Blanchette] has been pitching well all weekend for a freshman,” Henderson said. “She’s been holding her own.”
Another double to center field from Sarah Beth Brake and a single from Alison Carter in the bottom of the sixth scored the final two runs for the Dolphins to conclude the game.
Lead-off hitter Musch had two of four hits for the Minutewomen in the game but was left stranded at third base in the top of the third inning as the rest of UMass’ bats struggled at the plate.
“I think overall we played both Friday and Saturday extremely tense and tight and we did not play well in any area,” Henderson said.
The Minutewomen look to have an improved performance as they have another two-game day on Friday, Feb 13. They will take on the University of Pennsylvania in South Carolina at 12:30 p.m., followed by Charleston at 5:30 p.m..
Madison Keddy can be reached at [email protected].
