The Minutewomen will open up with DePaul and the other teams at the Regional are Missouri and Illinois State. University Field has one of the more unique set-ups in all of college softball, though it does bear some slight resemblances to the UMass Softball Complex. DePaul and Illinois State are both quite familiar with Missouri's home field as they were also sent to Columbia last season. In fact, this will be the fourth straight year that DePaul plays at the Columbia Regional.
Missouri comes in with a record of 43-12 and they will be the favorites in this Regional. For the Tigers it all starts with US National Team member Chelsea Thomas. Thomas features a great drop and outstanding changeup and also may be the hardest thrower in all of college softball. Thomas' numbers this year have been outstanding, as she is 23-7 with a 1.07 ERA and 262 SO in 189 IP. Thomas is going to see all of the action for the Tigers and she will be a tough egg to crack. The good thing for all of the teams here is that there is plenty of video out on her, the bad thing is that is shows just how dominating she is. On offense, Missouri is strong, but not necessarily scary as they are hitting .269 with 49 HR. Missouri does like to run and they have attempted 91 steals and have been successful on 76 of them. Opposing catchers will have to be on their toes. Ashley Fleming leads the Mizzou offense, hitting .372 with 58 hits, 15 HR, 48 RBI, and 9 steals. Nicole Hudson is the other Tiger to watch, hitting .306 with 44 hits, 7 HR, 36 RBI, and 8 steals. Of note, no other Tigers are hitting above .300.
DePaul comes into the Regional with a 35-20 record and this team is always ready to play. The Blue Demons are led by fiery head coach Eugene Lenti and this is a scrappy team. In the circle, southpaw Kirsten Verdun leads the way, as she is 26-13 with a 1.65 ERA and 247 SO in 250 IP. Verdun will be very tough on lefties which could make a big difference this weekend. Verdun is also a leader for the Blue Demons at the plate, hitting .373 with 11 HR and 40 RBI. Samantha Dodd is another Blue Demon to watch as she is hitting .337 with 55 hits. The Blue Demons don't stand out in any one statistical category sans defense, but they are fundamentally sound and find ways to win. Not to mention the fact that they are always tough come tournament time.
UMass enters the Columbia Regional with a 38-11 record and a 22 game winning streak. The Minutewomen are arguably the hottest team coming into this Regional and in many ways they have the big X factor for this Regional. Sara Plourde is one of the most dominating pitchers in NCAA history and she can completely take over a game. Her rise ball is one of the best pitches in college softball. Her numbers in the circle are just staggering as she is 36-9 with a 1.73 ERA and 520 SO in 295 IP. She leads the nation in wins, total SO, SO per 7 innings, and hits allowed per 7 innings. But her game goes far beyond that, as she is also a big bat in the Minutewomen's lineup. She is hitting .315 with 29 hits, including 11 HR with 29 RBI. She has only hit fulltime for 28 games, which makes these figures that much more astonishing. She is not the only UMass bat worth watching, as Cyndil Matthew gets things going for the Minutewomen out of the leadoff spot, hitting .414 with 65 hits, 1 HR, 19 RBI, and 34 steals. A key for opposing teams will be to keep her off the bases. Quianna Diaz-Patterson is another player to watch, as she has had an outstanding freshman season, hitting .341 with 56 hits, 4 HR, and 41 RBI. The top of the Minutewomen's order is tough to stop and if they can also get production from the bottom, they may win this Regional.
Illinois State is the fourth team at this regional, but they are no slouch. Melinda Fischer's squad is one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference year in and year out and they are always ready to play. The Redbirds are led in the circle by Jordan Birch who can hold her own with the other big names in the circle at this Regional. Birch is 23-12 this season with a 1.55 ERA and 221 SO in 212 IP. Birch will be the key for the Redbirds, if she is on her game she could make some things happen. The Redbird offense is led by Lizzie Andrews who is hitting .340 with 55 hits, 6 HR, and 25 RBI. Jhavon Hamilton is another one to watch as she is hitting .309 with 12 HR and 36 RBI to go along with 10 steals. The Redbirds have a shot to make some noise, but they will need to be on top of their game.
How the teams stack up:
Batting Average
UMass .278
DePaul .274
Missouri .269
Illinois State .266
Home Runs
Missouri 49
UMass 40
Illinois State 36
DePaul 35
Steals
Missouri 76
UMass 66
DePaul 49
Illinois State 39
ERA
Missouri 1.54
UMass 2.19
DePaul 2.28
Illinois State 2.66
Strikeouts
UMass 536
Missouri 410
DePaul 330
Illinois State 322
Opponents BA
UMass .149
Missouri .186
DePaul .221
Illinois State .254
Fielding Percentage
DePaul .976
Missouri .975
UMass .966
Illinois State .963
UMass' recent history against each team:
DePaul
8-0 L in 2012
2-0 W in 2009
Illinois State
1-0 W in 2010 (no-hitter)
Missouri
Have not played since 2002
Prognosis: This is going to be a brutal Regional. This is the second toughest Regional by RPI and it has four teams with a legitimate shot of beating any other. The big key will be the winner's bracket. Last year, Morgan Melloh was ousted at this regional by losing two games in the loser's bracket and she was one of the top pitcher's in the nation. If UMass is to win this regional it must do so by beating DePaul in its first game and then beat presumably Missouri in its second game. If UMass can avoid the scrum of the loser's bracket they will be in a good position to advance. This is going to be a brutally competitive regional and there may be quite a few 1-0 ballgames. It may come down to who can get on the scoreboard first. UMass can do it, but it is going to be tough.
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