University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Fordham
Williams Heroics Force A10 Winner-Take-All Game
May 15, 2010 | Softball
May 15, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. - A 3-for-3 effort and some incredible defensive stops by Whitney Williams helped UMass (41-8-1) past Fordham (47-9) in a must-win Atlantic 10 Tournament game. Williams scored the ultimate gamewinning run for the Minutewomen in the third inning while also recording the final out of the game, and two of the three outs in the seventh. UMass advances to the A10 Championship game for the 23rd time in school history, winning 21 Tournament titles including the last five and 14 of the last 15.
The Minutewomen ended Fordham's NCAA best 21-game winning streak with the victory today. The 3-0 loss for Fordham was the first shutout for the Rams since April 3, 2010 when they were blanked by the Minutewomen.
Sarah Reeves was also strong on the day for the Minutewoman as she broke the Atlantic 10 Tournament record for most RBIs by an individual in championship play with nine. Reeves drove in two of UMass' three RBIs on the day.
Sara Plourde (39-6) began things in the top of the first by striking out the side. Her three strikeouts in the first put her in the NCAA top-10 for single season strikeouts with 532 strikeouts, moving her past Monica Abbott's junior season (531). Plourde finished the day with 10 strikeouts and currently has 539 on the season.
The Minutewomen got their bats going in the third inning. Teea Rogers picked up the first hit of the game for UMass beating out an infield single that nicked the glove of Jen Mineau (32-6). She was replaced on the basepaths by Christine Della Vecchia who moved up to second one batter later when Whitney Williams laid down a textbook push bunt that got past the charging Jocelyn Dearborn. Dearborn made up for that hit with an outstanding play at third base to clear Della Vecchia from the basepath. An RBI single to left centerfield brought Williams around as she easily crossed the plate, giving the Minutewomen a 1-0 lead. The RBI was the eighth of the Tournament for Reeves, which ties the A10 record for most RBIs by a single player in a championship.
Two shots to left centerfield by Jess Richards and Lindsay Kay Bright got two runners on with just one out for the Rams in the fifth. Plourde helped Fordham out as she walked the bases loaded, but a laser throw home by Sarah Reeves to Megan Carta erased Richards and kept the Rams off of the boards. A fly out to centerfield ended the inning as the Minutewomen escaped unscathed.
Whitney Williams began things in the bottom half of the inning for the Minutewomen with a laser single that rocketed past the glove Fordham shortstop Sam Pellechio. Carly Normandin followed with a bloop hit into centerfield that was just out of the reach of Erin Fisher and Kyllie Magill continued the hitting streak with an RBI single to leftfield scored Cyndil Matthews, who came in to pinch run for Williams. Matthews speed coupled with an outstanding dive at the plate booted the Minutewoman lead to two. The next batter, Reeves sent a sacrifice fly to leftfield to record her ninth RBI of the tournament, setting a new Atlantic 10 Tournament record for most RBIs by an individual and giving UMass a 3-0 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Williams started the inning off with the defensive play of the game charging the ball and firing a shot to first to beat Lindsay Kay Bright. Plourde sat down the leadoff hitter on her 10th strikeout of the game and with the Rams threatening with runners on second and third, Williams recorded the final out of the game to push the Minutewomen to the A10 Tournament game.
