In preparation of defending its Atlantic 10 title, the Massachusetts softball team just concluded its fall ball schedule with four games over the weekend.
The Minutewomen took all four games, two against Holy Cross on Saturday and two against Connecticut on Sunday and learned a lot about their team, according to UMass coach Elaine Sortino.
"It was great because we could see how our pitching stacked up after the summer and the work that they did," Sortino said.
Sortino was happy with the way her pitchers performed during the fall ball schedule but still knew there were things they could improve on over the winter.
As for the team's ace, Brandice Balschmiter, Sortino feels she needs to utilize her change up more.
"It's become very, very deceptive and she has got to get that moving pitch going down," Sortino said. "I think her rise ball did really well, as well."
With Bailey Sanders, Sortino feels over the winter she needs to improve on her rise ball. Sortino wants the junior to get a little more break on the ball, get it to break firmer, and then feels Sanders can be more effective.
The newest addition to the pitching staff, freshman Sara Plourde also saw time during the fall. The freshman must make adjustments from playing in high school to playing in college.
"[Plourde] got away with blowing the ball by bad hitters," Sortino said. "Hitters have better eyes [at the college level], so she has got to be able to locate her pitches and get them to spin a little bit better."
New Faces
Scanning the roster for the Minutewomen there are some new names that people may not recognize. The 2009 roster has six freshman, all of which impress Sortino.
Plourde is a recent addition to the pitching staff and Sortino sees her as a "mainstay" on the staff. Not only will Plourde help out Balschmiter and Sanders on the pitching staff, but she can also contribute to the team offensively.
Tawny Palmieri and Kyllie Magill have played great defensively at second base and shortstop, respectively. Palmieri has also done well at the plate and scored runs hitting from the ninth spot.
Two other new faces that will be presences in the outfield will be Jordan Storro and Stephanie Mix. Sortino called Storro a "stud" and a strong player. She also commented on Mix's speed. Both will be a big part of a great defensive outfield the Minutewomen will showcase next spring.
"This is the best outfield on a UMass team I've ever coached, the greatest outfield I've ever had," Sortino said. "I feel really good about it."
Lastly, one freshman who may have impressed her coach the most during fall ball was Katie Bettencourt.
"Betancourt must have hit .900 for us this fall, I can remember her getting out just once," Sortino said.
New style of offense
Where the Minutewomen depended a lot on power last year to produce runs, they may have a very different approach when it comes to next season.
"I think offensively we're going to have the opportunity this year to manufacture runs, which last year we had to kind of depend on the long ball and extra base hits," Sortino said. "I think we have a little more capability offensively and definitely more speed."
Last season UMass hit 137 extra base hits as they won the A-10 title, including 42 home runs. As a team the Minutewomen had a .451 slugging percentage.
UMass was 40-of-51 in stolen bases last year but look for them to attempt more stolen bases this year with its new-found speed. One of the threats on the bases next spring for the Minutewomen will be Mix.
"[Mix has] incredible speed, wait till we turn her loose," Sortino said. "I'm looking forward to that."
Jeffrey R. Larnard can be reached at jlarnard@dailycollegian.com.
Be the first to comment on this article!