Season Preview: UMass

UMass Minutewomen
Record (A10 Play): 42-10-1 (17-0-1)
Coach (Record): Elaine Sortino, 31st (1100-457-6)
Returning Starters: Katie Bettencourt RF, Kyllie Magill 2B, Meg Carta C, Teea Rogers 3B, Audrey Boutin 1B
Other Returnees: Cyndil Matthew CF, Christine Della Vecchia IF/OF, Jordan Storro SS, Stephanie Mayne C/3B, Stephanie Mix OF
Key Losses: Carly Normandin CF, Sarah Reeves 1B, Michelle Libby LF, Whitney Williams SS, Jessica Serio C/DP, Bailey Sanders P, Jill Andrews OF
Newcomers: Sam Gray C/IF, Paige Hansen IF, Tiffany Meeks IF, Maggie Quealy 1B, Caroline Raymond P, Candace Waldie UT, Lindsey Webster P/OF

Outlook:

Kyllie Magill

After Day 3 of the A10 tournament, it looked like UMass would its streak of consecutive A10 titles come to an end. On Day 4, UMass showed why it was the defending champions and threw everything they had at Jen Mineau and Fordham and it was quite a bit, as UMass beat Fordham twice to win the A10 Championship. This year it may be even tougher to repeat, as Fordham returns all but one starter and UMass loses five from last year. There are a few other variables that come into play, for one Coach Elaine Sortino. Coach Sortino is one of the best in the game and she knows how to get the most out of her team come crunch time. This year the Minutewomen are a very young, but talented squad. The biggest thing for the Minutewomen is the return of Sara Plourde, who finished 2010 on a poor note. Plourde finally encountered an injury at the end of the year after throwing 311.1 IP with 556 SO, 40-8 record, with a 1.30 ERA. Plourde got surgery to fix the problem and rested the whole fall. The one other intangible UMass has is a clutch player. Quiet, unassuming, not the flashiest, but when UMass needed her most Kyllie Magill came through. If Magill can perform that way this season she could be the top player in the A10.

Sara Plourde

In the circle, Plourde is back, in so many senses of the word. I think her goals for 2011 are to stay healthy the whole year and to keep the ball in the playing field. For Plourde to be fresh at the end of the year she cannot throw over 300 innings again. Plourde is a riseball pitcher and when her legs are fresh her pitches jump. She had some very impressive performances in 2010, including a 1-hitter with 18 SO against Fordham, a 1-hitter with 20 SO against BC, a 1-hitter with 22 SO against Texas A&M in 9 innings, and a no-hitter against Illinois State with 18 SO. She is a stellar pitcher and with her in the circle, UMass has the opportunity to beat any team they go up against. She will have a little more help in the circle this year, as freshmen Lindsey Webster and Caroline Raymond join the ranks in the circle. Webster is going to offer a very different look from Plourde in the circle, as she does not throw quite as hard, but she is more of a drop ball pitcher, which will allow Coach Sortino to offer opponents different looks in the circle. Caroline Raymond is a tall Jennie Finch look a like, but it will be interesting to see if she can pitch like Finch too. She can bring it with some speed, but she is still a little raw, if she can fine tune some things UMass' pitching staff could be scary good in 2011.

Katie Bettencourt

At the plate, All-American Carly Normandin has graduated, A10 Tournament MVP Sarah Reeves has graduated, and 4 year starters Jess Serio and Whitney Williams have graduated leaving big holes in the lineup. The good news for UMass is that co-A10 Player of the Year Katie Bettencourt is back, along with the previously mentioned Kyllie Magill. These two players are going to be counted on to lead the way at the plate, also back is catcher Meg Carta who had an impressive season at the plate in her first year starting. Other than those three, just about every position is up for grabs. After fall ball, it looks like some of the earlier season favorites are Jordan Storro at SS, Cyndil Matthew CF, and Tiffany Meeks at DP. Meeks has a real nice bat at the plate and she should replace some of the power lost from last year's senior class. Matthew is a very fast slapper who will give the Minutewomen a real threat on the basepaths. Storro is a pure athlete who is very versatile, she will need to step up her hitting to cement her spot at the plate. It is going to be interesting to see how this team comes together at the plate.

On defense, the Minutewomen were one of the top fielding teams in the country along with Fordham last year. There is going to be some significant turnover on the defense with a new SS, 1B, CF, and LF at the bare minimum. It is going to be tough for UMass to match last year's defense, but Coach Sortino will have her squad ready. One area I want to see improvement in is throwing out base stealers. Meg Carta threw out only 10 of 64 basestealers, this number needs to improve in 2011. Sara Plourde does not allow many runners and if Carta can show off her arm behind the plate the Minutewomen will be able to keep runners out of scoring position. UMass has the talent and once again the title will go through Amherst in one way or another.

Schedule:
Once again, the Minutewomen will play a challenging schedule in 2011, highlighted by games against Michigan, California, Georgia Tech, Washington, and Oklahoma State. The Minutewomen will be tested from the get go and we will see how the offense performs against some very good pitching. The Minutewomen will be on the road for the first 26 games of the year. 2011 is going to be a challenging year for UMass, but with only 2 seniors on this squad, this squad is going to be even tougher in 2012. The A10 title will come down to UMass and Fordham and it will be interesting to see this battle once again in 2011. Mineau vs Plourde it doesn't get any better than this.