UMass lost to Michigan 5-1. The Minutewomen finished the weekend with a 2-3, but overall it was not a bad weekend for the Minutewomen. UMass had a tough slate of games on the weekend, including two matchups with #10 Michigan. There were some highs for the weekend, but also some lows. And while I use the term "lows" they aren't necessarily all bad things. UMass' offense struggled on the weekend at times, but they also did face All-American Jordan Taylor for 11 innings. The defense also had its moments where the fielding had its lapses, but overall I think it was a good challenging weekend. Sara Plourde was downright dominant at times, but she also showed that she is still not completely back to normal. When she gets her stamina up the A10 better watch out as she has added a drop ball to her repitoire. Lindsey Webster was also effective in the circle in her one appearance and it will be interesting to see her innings moving forward. On offense, Kyllie Magill and Meg Carta led the way, but the surprise was the performance of Stephanie Mayne. Mayne stepped in and was solid all weekend in the DP spot. UMass will face an even bigger test next weekend at Palm Springs and both Sara Plourde and the offense will need to bring it.
Fordham lost to UAB 2-0. Maybe the Rams just don't like playing on Sundays or maybe the bats had an earlier flight back to New York either way Fordham's offense was not there against UAB. Chelsea Plimpton threw another solid game, this time without any relief support from Jen Mineau. The offense did pick it up a bit this weekend, but the power aspect of Fordham's game still hasn't appeared. There was a different lineup for almost every game this weekend. I honestly thought things had been somewhat figured out on Saturday especially when the offense had a 9 run output against DePaul. The Rams may need to rethink their offensive strategy and revert to small ball to move over runners. This team has me perplexed. We know Fordham has great pitching and defense, but this team does not look like the squad I saw in the A10 tournament last year. Fordham just needs to relax out there and put good swings on good pitches and the HR will eventually come. The Rams have some tough games in Palm Springs, but also a couple easy ones. I am curious to see how much or how little Jen Mineau is used in California.
Charlotte beat St. Francis 8-2. The 49ers bounced back after a rough Saturday to win their final game of the weekend. Katy Hackett was once again the star in the circle going 7 strong innings to improve to 4-1 on the year. Hackett is having a career year in the circle, but she is the only Charlotte pitcher who has proven she can throw a complete game. Right now it looks like the 49ers will finish .500, but it will be hard for Hackett to keep this pace during conference play. Katie Watkins and Kalie Lang have to keep the 49ers in games, if not there could be quite a few 5 inning games. At the plate, Charlotte is having a great year led by Tenaya Tucker who is having a career year. Tucker is leading the squad in HR and RBI and she has gotten some help this year from Jalisa Rock and Briana Gwaltney. The 49ers are doing pretty well at the plate, unfortunately their opponents are doing even better. This could be another long weekend for the 49ers with some quality teams coming in.
St. Joseph's lost to Coastal Carolina 8-2. The Hawks had a rough Sunday falling 8-2 to Coastal Carolina. St. Joe's had a rough 1st weekend on defense and in the circle, but surprisingly the offense did well. The Hawks' offense was not very strong last year so it is promising to see St. Joe's break out the bats. Dana Parks led the way hitting a scorching .556 and Laura Cardone was on her game as well hitting .444. These two table setters got the job done at the top of the order and Dana Bieniek and Monica Aguilar did a good job behind them. Maria Ficca also did a solid job in her 1st weekend, but the rest of the freshmen Hawks struggled at the plate. The defense for St. Joe's struggled at times, especially up the middle. If St. Joe's can improve their defense I think the Hawks will be able to cut down some runs. In the circle, Erin Gallagher bounced back after a rough start to have a decent weekend. Gallagher still has room to improve, including cutting down on extra base hits. Taryn Ashway and Lauren Pembleton were solid at times, but at others offenses were able to get to them. This weekend the Hawks will face some quality teams in ACC opponents UNC and NC State and hopefully they will be better prepared this weekend.
St. Louis beat Georgetown 7-5. The Billikens ended the weekend with another 3-2 finish upping their record to 6-4 on the year. To be perfectly honest, St. Louis should have gone 4-1 on the weekend. Other than a drubbing at the hands of Michigan State, St. Louis was competitive in every game. The Billikens offense slipped a little bit this weekend, but they still kept putting runs on the board. Kristain Burger, Tori Holland, Kerri Dockins, and Rachel Faletto have been the leaders at the plate, leading the squad in HR and RBI. St. Louis' issues have not been at the plate, but in the circle. The Billikens' pitching staff now has a 5.54 ERA on the year. Hannah Huebbe has had the best year so far of any St. Louis pitcher with a 3-0 record and a 2.74 ERA. Julian Austin and Kelcie Matesa have been solid at times, but they have also been prone to giving up a lot of runs. St. Louis' defense also struggled this weekend, after a very good performance last weekend. Coach Connoyer does not seem to be as comfortable with attempting SB, as Coach Conway was. Unfortunately for the Billikens, the opponents have not had any trouble running on them.
Dayton beat Morgan State 8-7 and lost to Elon 4-0. The Flyers ended the weekend with a 1-3 mark, but they were able to score a win on Sunday. One of the positives of this weekend was the solid performance of Dayton's freshmen class, unfortunately most of them did their damage coming off the bench. I am expecting that they will be in the starting this weekend. Dayton had an okay weekend at the plate, but the pitching just isn't there yet. Alysha Isaacson had the best weekend of any Dayton pitcher, but she was not given a single start this weekend. Isaacson offers a different look as a lefty pitcher and I am curious to see how she develops over the course of this season. Kathleen Maloof was the Flyers steadiest bat at the plate, hitting .333, but she was also the only Flyer to hit above .300 and start all four games. Dayton will need to step it up this weekend, as they will have another slate of winnable games this weekend. Action will only get tougher when the Flyers start A10 play so they need to make the most of these games.
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