April 18, 2008

Kingston, RI (UWIRE) -- The University of Rhode Island softball team fell to the Minutewomen of The University of Massachusetts in both portions of a doubleheader on Tuesday. The team was not able to muster up much offense in either game, only scoring a combined three runs.

Rhody was blanked in game one 4-0, and then received a 12-3 drubbing later on in the day. The Rams now find themselves in the A-10 basement after going 1-5 against conference opponents in their last six games.

URI contributed to their loss as much as the Minutewomen did in game one, giving up four unearned runs. UMass capitalized on some early mistakes and set the tone for the afternoon by grabbing a first inning 3-0 lead.

A fielding error on a ground ball from UMass sophomore Sarah Reeves allowed UMass to grab the first run of the day after an RBI double by sophomore Jessica Serio and an RBI single by freshman Lindsay Maroney. URI dug themselves into a hole that they would not be able to escape from. Another error in the fifth would lead to an RBI single by junior Samantha Salato, and a 4-0 final.

Senior Jill Anderson was charged with the loss after allowing five hits and four unearned runs during her six innings of work.

Junior Brandice Balschmiter was dominant in her winning effort, holding the stifled Rhody bats to one hit all day long. Rams head coach Deb Smith said that she was very impressed with Balschmiter's performance.

"We couldn't get any solid contact and hit a lot of ground balls," Smith said. "She is an incredibly dominant pitcher."

The Rams looked like they were going to rebound in game two when they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Junior Stefani Poedubicky doubled the squad's hit total for the day when she opened the game with a scorched triple and found her way home after an illegal pitch call.

Things started out innocently enough for URI freshman pitcher Stacey Stanovich, completing a scoreless first and mowing through the first two batters of the second inning. Her situation would turn sour in a hurry though, giving up six straight hits with four of them being for extra bases.

The two-out, five-run rally had the Rams once again looking up at the Minutewomen, a vantage point that they would be stuck in for the remainder of the day.

Poedubicky continued to be the only thorn in UMass's side when her second homerun of the year in the third inning brought the score to 5-3. Smith stated that Poedubicky must jeep this up if the team is going to put any kind of run together.

"She runs the outfield with great speed and a great arm," Smith said. "She's really picked up her hitting over the last few weeks, and we need her to keep this going."

UMass would take that run right back in their next at bat though, and six more runs in the fourth would sink Rhody's battleship for good. Stanovich was charged with the loss, giving up 10 hits and seven runs in her two innings of work.

Senior Jill Anderson couldn't find the answer either, surrendering five runs in relief. Sophomore Bailey Sanders gave up five hits and struck out eight in her winning effort for the Minutewomen. Smith said that her squad has to win out the rest of their Atlantic 10 games if they hope to make the conference tournament.

"We are approaching every game now like it is a single elimination tournament," Smith said. "The girls are playing hard but we need a bit more, and we need it now."

(C) 2008 The Good Five Cent Cigar via UWIRE