Minutewomen Set For Five Games At Madeira Beach Invitational

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts softball team will continue their non-conference tournament schedule this weekend as they head to Madeira Beach, Fla. for five games in three days at the EMU Madeira Beach Invitational. The Minutewomen (1-3 Overall) will open up weekend competition on Friday against UNC Greensboro at 11 a.m. before finishing the day with a matchup against Monmouth at 4 p.m.

UMass split a pair of games in the season-opening doubleheader last Friday at the Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, La., picking up a 4-0 win over Southern Miss in the second game of the day. Kiara Oliver earned her first collegiate win in her first start, striking out eight while allowing three hits on her way to a complete game shutout win. Oliver tossed 15.1 innings in three appearances with a 1.83 ERA and 17 strikeouts.

Freshman Hannah Bunker helped spark the UMass offense in the third inning in the win, beginning with a two-RBI double down the left field line to score the first two runs of the game after Alyssa Lyon and Erin Stacevicz reached on infield singles. After picking up her first collegiate hit in the win, Bunker followed with hits in the next two games to give her a three-game hitting streak heading into the second weekend of play.

Jena Cozza added a pair of runs for the Minutewomen the very next at-bat with one of her three hits on the opening day to put UMass ahead 4-0 on their way to a win over Southern Miss. The senior remains one of the most decorated hitters in a career at UMass, ranking second all-time in slugging percentage with a .634 clip while her marks for batting average (.377) and on-base percentage (.455) each rank fourth. Cozza, along with Bunker and Lyon, lead UMass with a .300 average at the plate while Cozza and Bunker lead the way with two RBI each after four games played.

The Minutewomen will continue play at the EMU Madeira Beach Invitational on Saturday with a doubleheader against Ohio and Jacksonville state beginning at 1 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend Sunday against UMKC at 11:30 a.m.

Tournament Schedule

For complete coverage of the UMass softball team, follow the Minutewomen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @UMassSoftball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.

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Minutewomen Set For Five Games At Madeira Beach Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Hannah Bunker

Jena Cozza

Alyssa Lyon

Kiara Oliver

Erin Stacevicz

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics