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It wasn't just her staff picking up the slack. Her friends, her family and the community helped her with everything from simple tasks like driving, running errands or just passing along a get-well note to the extremely generous. Someone donated a van to drive Sortino to St. Louis for the Atlantic 10 tournament and then to Columbia, Mo. for the NCAA tournament because she wasn't allowed to fly.
"I was blessed with an army of angels. I couldn't ask for more other than not to have this happen," she said. "People would help and do whatever they could to help keep things going for me and my health and the team."
Standing on the field at the UMass Softball Complex after the University of Massachusetts softball team's 1-0 win over Quinnipiac in the home opener Wednesday, freshman shortstop Quianna Diaz-Patterson marveled at how far she's come.
"It was really fun just to be on the field," the former Amherst Regional standout said. "I used to watch the UMass team play - now I'm on the field with them."
Hitting out of the No. 2 spot in the batting order, Diaz-Patterson is second on the team in hitting at .313 and leads the Minutewomen in home runs (three) and RBIs (20). Her RBI double in the third inning Wednesday produced the game's only run."You can't ask for a young kid to do more," Sortino added. "She has a plan and she finishes her at-bats."
Republican: UMass freshman shortstop Quianna Diaz-Patterson - a high school softball star stays home

The Minutewomen travelled to Storrs, Conn. on Wednesday and shut out the Huskies, 2-0. Stephanie Mayne hit a two-run home run in the third inning to account for all the scoring, while Sara Plourde pitched her eighth shutout of the season with a three-hitter. Playing in her home state, she struck out 13 batters, including the final three of the game with two runners on base. Below are recaps of the game.
- Minutewomen's Streak Hits 9, Steve Levine, Daily Collegian
- Minutewomen Softball Blanks UConn, Hampshire Gazette
- Bristol Pair Have UMass On Upswing (with video), Paul Angilly, Bristol Press
- UMass Edges Huskies By A 2-0 Count, The Hour
The Minutewomen return home to host Fairfield today at 5 p.m., kicking off a 12-game homestand at the UMass Softball Complex.
- Plourde Pitches Not-Hitter, Leads Minutewomen To Doubleheader Sweep, Matt Vautour, Hampshire Gazette
- Plourde Throws A No-No As UMass Sweeps Big Green, Stephen Hewitt, Daily Collegian
- UM Finds Other Ways Besides Long Ball To Generate Offense, Michael Wood, Daily Collegian
- UMass Softball Sweeps Dartmouth, WWLP.com
- Softball Fails To Muster Offense In Doubleheader Loss At UMass, Olivia Durr, TheDartmouth.com
- UMassAthletics.com Photo Gallery, Thom Kendall
- MassLive.com Photo Gallery, J. Anthony Roberts
Michael Wood of the Daily Collegian has a feature on senior first baseman Audrey Boutin. The story focuses on how the Bristol, Conn. native is a key member to the offense in 2011, and after a slow start, has caught fire as of late, batting .417 with nine RBIs in the last seven games.

With Atlantic 10 Conference play just underway and the home opener on the horizon, the Daily Collegian released its annual Baseball/Softball Issue on Wednesday with extensive coverage of both squads. Check out the links below to all of the softball coverage in today's issue.
- Podcast: Softball Running The A-10, Nick O'Malley
- Winning Culture Challenged For 2011 Minutewomen, Pete Vasquez
- New Idea Of Success, Steve Levine
- Youth, Speed, Pitching Dictate Minutewomen's 2011 Roster, Mike Wood
- Minutewomen Relying On Raymond & Webster To Help Plourde, Stephen Hewitt
- After Tough Start, UMass Finds Win Column, Stephen Hewitt, March 20
The softball team went 2-3 last weekend in the season-opening FAU Kickoff Classic, making it to the tournament's championship game. Below are recaps from the weekend.
- Minutewomen Fall To Michigan In FAU Kickoff Classic, Daily Collegian
- Plourde Leads UMass In Season Opening Win, Hampshire Gazette
- Softball Opens In Florida, Hampshire Gazette
- In Case You Are Wondering, Plourde Can Still Pitch, Hampshire Gazette
- Minutewomen Fall To Michigan In Kickoff Finals, UMassAthletics.com
- Bettencourt's Blast Leads UMass Past FAU, UMassAthletics.com
- Softball Falls To Michigan, 3-0, UMassAthletics.com
- Softball Splits On Opening Day, UMassAthletics.com
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In recognition of its 35th-year anniversary, the Atlantic 10 Conference is unveiling 35 Years of A-10 History. Major accomplishments and features were collected from each year, and in the conference's No. 4 Highlight, the impact of the 1972 enactment of Title IX and the contributions of women's athletics to the Atlantic 10 is the focus.
Featured in the No. 4 Highlight is the incredible success experienced by the UMass softball program over the last 31 years under the guidance of head coach Elaine Sortino."Under Sortino's direction, UMass has accumulated 22 Atlantic 10 Conference titles and has never suffered a losing season. Sortino has proven her ability to produce exceptional talent during her 31-years at the helm, coaching 27 All-Americans, 13 A-10 Players of the Year, 16 A-10 Pitcher of the Year picks, eight A-10 Rookie of the Year honorees and 116 all-conference selections."