University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Dayton
#21 Softball Sweeps Past Dayton At Home
May 02, 2010 | Softball
May 2, 2010
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
AMHERST, Mass. - Katie Bettencourt collected five hits and drove in four runs, while Sara Plourde picked up both victories in the circle and moved closer to making history as the pair led No. 21 UMass to a doubleheader sweep of Dayton, 8-2 and 5-4, on Sunday afternoon at the UMass Softball Complex. The Minutewomen (33-7-1, 13-0-1 A-10) piled up 12 hits as they cruised to victory in game one before scoring twice in the sixth inning in game two to erase a one-run lead for the Flyers (17-35-1, 5-13 A-10) and getting some defensive help in the seventh to finish off the sweep and run UMass' unbeaten streak to 19 games.
Bettencourt was 3-for-4 with one RBI in the first game and followed that up with a 2-for-3 performance in game two, including a bases-loaded double that drove in three runs in the fourth inning to give UMass a 3-2 lead. It was her third double of the day.
Plourde (32-5) struck out 11 batters in game one and fanned 12 more in game two to increase the nation's strikeouts leader's season total to 463, just two behind Danielle Henderson's (1999) school-record of 465. The sophomore allowed two runs on four hits in game one and four runs on 10 hits in game two. Plourde's 32 wins tie her with Brandice Balschmiter (2006) for second-most in a season in UMass history, two behind Baslchmiter's 34 last season.
Sarah Reeves had a big day at the plate, hitting two doubles and driving in two runs in the first game and reaching base in all four plate appearances in the second game with a single, three walks, and two runs scored.
In UMass' first at-bat of the day, Carly Normandin hit a home run, her second of the season, and the senior All-American stayed hot the rest of the day, reaching base safely in seven out of eight plate appearances, collecting four hits and scoring four times.
In game one, UMass scored a run in each of the first two innings, but Dayton responded with a two-run home run by Anne Maci in the third inning to tie the game.
The Minutewomen then piled up five runs in the fifth inning, courtesy of three big hits in succession. Reeves delivered a two-run double, followed by a RBI double off the bat of Bettencourt. Meghan Carta then hit her team-leading 10th home run of the season, a two-run shot to left that gave the Minutewomen a 7-2 lead. Normandin tacked on UMass' eighth run in the sixth inning by singling, stealing second, and scoring after two wild pitches.
In game two, the Flyers jumped out to an early lead on another two-run home run, this time a second inning shot off the bat of Courtney Kutsulis. UMass came back in the fourth inning with a single, a hit batter, and another single - all with two outs. That set the stage for Bettencourt's bases-clearing double to right center. The Flyers responded immediately in the top of the fifth with a Kathleen Maloof RBI single and a Lauren Nacke RBI double to take a 4-3 lead.
With one out in the UMass half of the sixth, Kyllie Magill and Reeves worked back-to-back walks and Bettencourt singled to load the bases. Carta worked another walk to bring in the tying run, and after starting pitcher Sarah Wedel was replaced with Amanda Daly, Jessica Serio worked a bases-loaded walk with two outs to bring another run and give UMass a 5-4 lead.
Maloof singled to lead off the seventh inning for Dayton, but after Plourde struck out the next batter, Brandy Brown singled to left field and Michelle Libby threw out Maloof at third base as she tried to go first-to-third. With Brown at second base and two outs, Normandin made a diving catch in center field on a ball off the bat of Megan Lee to end the game.
The Minutewomen return to action on Wednesday when they host Boston College in a 5 p.m. game at the UMass Softball Complex.
