Minutewomen Host Colonials For Sunday Doubleheader

April 20, 2013

Massachusetts (14-17, 8-2) vs. George Washington (20-17, 7-3)
Date	Sunday, April 21 \| DH at Noon & approx. 2:15 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. \| Sortino Field
Tickets	$3-$8
Video	Live Video
Live Stats	GameTracker: Game One \| Game Two
Twitter Updates	@UMassAthletics \| @UMassSoftball \| JTAM News Blog

Game Notes

 Massachusetts will close out its four-game homestand with a Sunday doubleheader against George Washington at Noon. This will conclude a stretch where the Minutewomen will have played 12 of 15 at Sortino Field.
 Live video and stats of every UMass home game are available online at UMassAthletics.com. Additionally, live stats and a live audio broadcast are available for every road game, including the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship.

Scouting UMass
 UMass (14-17, 8-2) comes into the contest on a season-best seven-game win streak, while claiming 12 of its last 13 overall. The Minutewomen are also 8-1 at home this season and 25 of their last 26 in Amherst.
 The Minutewomen are hitting .290 on the year. They have increased their team batting average in 13 of the past 14 games, with its current mark at its highest since opening day. Over the past three weeks, UMass has recorded a .377 batting avg. with a .453 on-base percentage. The Miuntewomen have hit .389 in A-10 play, 49 points better than second-place Fordham. UMass has also turned eight doubles plays in its 10 conference contests - the most among the 12 teams.
 Six starters have over a .315 avg. at the plate, led by Christine Della Vecchia's .475 (3rd in the A-10) and Cyndil Matthew's .384 (10th). UM has posted double-digit hit totals in 11 of the last 14 games, along with seven of 10 A-10 contests. Matthew is tied for the league lead and ranks 12th nationally with 22 steals.
 Caroline Raymond has emerged as the ace of the pitching staff, compiling a 4.10 ERA, which ranks in the top 20 of the A-10. Her 13 complete games are second. In the last four weeks, he has lowered her ERA by 1.60, fashioning a 9-1 record and a 2.62 ERA with nine complete games and four shutouts.

Scouting George Washington
 George Washington (20-17, 7-3) did not play any midweek games before sweeping a pair at Rhode Island Friday and Saturday. The Colonials have won eight-consecutive contests and stand in a tie for third place in the conference standings.
 Victoria Valos is batting a team-high .382 on the season. Her 44 RBIs are a single-season program record, and her 11 home runs are tied with her own school mark. She ranks second in the A-10 in home runs, third in slugging percentage (.791) and fifth in RBIs.
 Meghan Rico and Courtney Martin have combined to post a 2.50 ERA on the year, second-best in the A-10, while holding opponents to a league-low .238 average. Martin's 1.89 ERA ranks second in the conference and her 127 strikeouts are third, while Rico's .188 opponent batting average ranks second. Martin (127) and Rico (111) are the first set of GW teammates to record at least 100 strikeouts apiece.

Series With George Washington
 The Minutewomen are 20-0 all-time against the Colonials, having posted 12 shutouts.
 UMass won all four meetings in 2012 as it claimed wins of 8-0 and 2-0 in our nation's capital before taking a 5-2 win on the second day of the Atlantic 10 Championship, followed two days later with the dramatic 3-2 walk-off home run from Kyllie Magill to win in the championship game.
 Two years ago in Amherst, UMass collected a 6-0 win in game one before a come-from-behind 5-4 win in eight innings to complete the sweep.
 Two years ago in Amherst, UMass collected a 6-0 win in game one before a come-from-behind 5-4 win in eight innings to complete the sweep.

Streaking Right Along
 With UMass' strong play over the past month, a number of Minutewomen have collected some impressive hitting streaks and reaching base. Entering the George Washington doubleheader, Tiffany Meeks has a career-best 14-game hitting streaks, followed by Quianna Diaz-Patterson at 13. Cyndil Matthew saw her 12-game streak come to an end on Tuesday, while Christine Della Vecchia's ended at eight. Diaz-Patterson has reached base in 15-straight outings.
 Through 10 Atlantic 10 Conference league games, Katie Bettencourt, Meeks and Matthew have hit safely in every game. Diaz-Patterson has secured a hit in nine of the contests. Additionally, Diaz-Patterson and Taylor Carbone have reached base in every league game, joining the hit streak trio.

Missed Opportunities
 UMass has averaged 6.3 runners left on over the course of the season. That number has risen in the past 13 games to 7.8 per contest. The Minutewomen left 11 on-base twice last week, tying their season high set earlier at Dayton and vs. Western Michigan. UMass is hitting .317 this year with runners on base and .291 with runners in scoring position. In A10 play, those averages are .430 and .385.

UMass Record Book Update
 A quick check of the Massachusetts Softball Record Book shows a number of Minutewomen are making their way up the charts in various categories.
 Senior Katie Bettencourt hit her 19th career home run on Tueday against UConn to move into 10th place all-time. She has also been hit by a pitch 11 times for tied for eighth. Junior Lindsey Webster is also on the HBP the list, placing third after being plunked 18 times, including once on Tuesday.
 Senior Cyndil Matthew's 83 career steals put her third all-time at UMass. Next on the list is Candice Molinari, who swiped 98 from 2004-07. Both her .362 career batting average and .434 on-base percentage would be fourth. Her 116 runs scored are 11th and her eight triples are tied for 18th.

Preseason Poll
 Massachusetts was picked to win the 2013 Atlantic 10 Conference title in a vote of the league's 12 head coaches during the preseason polls. Fordham was chosen second, George Washington - last year's tourney runner-up - took the third spot, followed by Saint Joseph's (fourth), Temple (fifth), Charlotte (sixth), Butler (seventh), Saint Louis (eighth), Dayton (ninth), St. Bonaventure (10th), Rhode Island (11th) and La Salle (12th).

A10 Tournament
 For the ninth time in school history, UMass will play host to the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament, May 8-11 at Sortino Field. The format features six teams in a double-elimination bracket, with the first and second-place teams based on regular-season winning pct. receiving day one byes.
 Tickets will cost between $3-$8 per day or you can grab a 4-day tournament pass for $12 (youth) or $24 (adult). Students of Atlantic 10 Conference schools are free to all games with a valid ID.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics

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