UMass opens play in the 2012 NCAA Softball Regional today at University Field in Columbia, Mo. against DePaul. The Minutewomen bring a 22-game winning streak into the tourney and are playing away from Amherst for the first time since 2005. Don't forget to tune in to UMassAthletics.com for a live video and audio broadcast of the games this weekend for free. Here are a few previews from newspapers in Massachusetts on the team's preparations.
Recently in Quianna Diaz-Patterson Category
Matt Vautour
of the Daily Hampshire Gazette has a piece on freshman softball player Quianna
Diaz-Patterson and her rapid adjustment to the college game.
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."
Diaz-Patterson had
an outstanding career at Amherst Regional with 144 hits and 105 stolen bases,
but she came into the UMass season unsure of how her abilities would translate
to the Division I college level.
Republican: UMass freshman shortstop Quianna Diaz-Patterson - a high school softball star stays home
Dick Baker has a feature story on softball freshman Quianna Diaz-Patterson and her adjustment to college softball.
'Q' had a solid opening weekend down in Florida where she hit .294 with three doubles, an RBI and started all five games at shortstop.
The shortstop and leadoff batter led the Hurricanes softball team to the Massachusetts Division 1 State Finals by batting .559 in her senior season with a .604 on-base percentage, eight homers, and 21 RBIs. She stole 105 bases in her three-year career without being thrown out a single time.
Diaz-Patterson, one of five incoming freshmen for Elaine Sortino, was also a state champion in the swimming pool for Amherst, in addition to starring in field hockey.
Kacey Schmitt, the Amherst Regional Head Coach had this to say about Diaz-Patterson: "Softball is her passion and it shows in the way she plays. Her athleticism is off the charts and that really stands out. She has quick hands and quick feet, and it's that kind of quickness that really sets her apart from any other player in Western Mass. And as a senior captain, she cared about everybody on the team. We're going to miss her on so many levels, but we look forward to seeing her play at UMass."
The terrific game received lots of media attention. Check out the coverage below, including a pair of features on Kelley.
UMass softball NLI signee Quianna Diaz-Patterson, a hometown product and senior shortstop at Amherst Regional High School led the Hurricanes to a 4-0 victory over West Springfield on Tuesday in the Western Mass. Division 1 semifinals at Elms College.
The speedy left-handed leadoff batter needed just one at-bat to turn the game in Amherst's favor, driving a ball down the right field line and circling the bases, diving into home ahead of the catcher's tag for an inside-the-park home run.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette has a great recap of the game, including Amherst's coach giving Diaz-Patterson some high praise:
"Her hands are so quick," Hurricanes coach Kacey Schmitt said. "I've been watching a lot of the Women's College World Series. They talk about it a lot, 'this girl's quick hands,' and I watch it thinking that Quianna can do that. There aren't many high school coaches that can say that when they are watching Florida and Alabama, both offensively and defensively.
"She's got the raw talent that is so rare and she's got the smarts. She's played a lot of softball and she's worked very hard to get as good as she is and she's used the talent that she was given."
Amherst (21-1) will face Agawam (18-4) in the Western Mass. Division 1 Championship game at Diaz-Patterson's future home field - the UMass Softball Complex - on Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette has a story on Diaz-Patterson's stellar performance.
