In its first-ever games competing in the Mid-American Conference, the Massachusetts softball team came up empty, going 3-0 on the weekend. The Minutewomen’s (7-15, 0-3 MAC) offense was overpowered by Kent State’s and was quieted by its pitching staff.
The closest competition on the weekend was the first game of a double-header Friday. The game was knotted at two, going into the bottom of the seventh. With UMass being the visitors, it lost control of the game, leading to a walk-off win.
The bottom of the seventh began with the Golden Flashes (11-11, 3-0 MAC) Gabby Quinn reaching on an error by Riain Keefe in right field, allowing the runner to advance to second. The next batter attempted a sacrifice bunt and was safe at first courtesy of an error by third baseman Tiegan Walsh. With runners on first and third, the next batter hit a ground ball to second, but the Minutewomen committed another error, allowing Quinn to score the winning run.
UMass had already put in the work to put itself in a winning position, battling back from an early 2-0 deficit.
In the top of the fourth, sophomore Lily Woodworth worked a walk followed by a Lillie Scheivert single. With Woodworth on second, two consecutive groundouts were enough to push her home.
The Minutewomen tied the game in the top of the six after Scheivert walked and was replaced by pinch runner Eliana Raposo. Raposo used her speed to get to third, eventually scoring on an infield hit by Walsh.
UMass let the walk-off of the first game follow them into the second game on Friday afternoon, losing 14-1 in five innings.
Kent State did a majority of their scoring in the second innings, exploding for 10 runs.
Kelsey Blanchette started in the circle for the Minutewomen, allowing a solo homerun in the first. She then allowed six more runs in the second, all of them earned.
Blanchette was relieved by Olivia Cutuli with the bases loaded and no outs. Cutuli did her best to work out of the jam, but the Golden Flashes’ offense was too much to handle for the UMass pitching staff.
The Minutewomen produced six hits in the second Friday game, but lacked the ability to string them together. In the top of the fifth, Raposo recorded her second hit of the game, and represented her team’s only run thanks to a Brook Musch triple.
UMass dropped the final game of the series 10-6, with Kent State’s offense once again putting on a show.
Despite the eventual loss, the Minutewomen finally showed some life on offense. Raposo, Scheivert and Olivia Packard each recorded two hits, with Scheivert and Raposo each tallying two RBIs.
Going into the second inning down by two, Raposo began with a single to center field, scoring Packard, who had previously doubled. Raposo advanced to third from a fielder’s choice. Scheivert completed the inning with a two RBI single, scoring Raposo and Odyssey Torres.
UMass couldn’t hang onto the lead, with the Golden Flashes responding with four runs in the bottom of the inning. An ultimate 10-6 loss completed the sweep of the Minutewomen in their first MAC showing.
MAC play will continue for UMass in its first home games of the season against Toledo. The games will begin on March 20, with first pitch at noon. The series is available to stream on ESPN+.
Rosie Follet can be reached at [email protected].
