University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
La Salle
Softball To Open A-10 Play At Home Against La Salle
March 22, 2018 | Softball
The Minutewomen will now play their three-game series against La Salle at Sortino Field this weekend.
UMass owns a 41-2 all-time record against La Salle after picking up two wins in the three-game series last year at Sortino Field. All three games were decided by one run with the Explorers taking the first game of the series before the Minutewomen bounced back by winning the next two.
The Minutewomen head into conference play after going 2-2 last weekend at the St. John's Invite, capping off their weekend with a 12-2 five-inning run-rule win over the host Red Storm on Sunday afternoon. UMass racked up 13 hits in the win, led by Kaitlyn Stavinoha's three hits while four other batters recorded a pair of base hits. On the weekend, UMass was led by Jena Cozza's .583 average and eight RBI while Madison Gimpl added six hits on 12 at-bats for a .500 average.
Through 21 games, Cozza leads the Minutewomen at the plate with a .492 average to go along with team-leading numbers in RBI (25), slugging-percentage (1.079) and on-base percentage (.610). Kaycee Carbone ranks second on the team in batting average (.368) to go along with 23 RBI, five home runs and a .618 slugging-percentage. In the circle, UMass is led by freshman Kiara Oliver's 2.94 ERA with a 6-2 record in nine starts.
Game two of the three game series will follow Saturday's opener around 3 p.m. with game three slated for Sunday at noon.
STILL CLIMBING
Jena Cozza continues her climb up multiple categories in the UMass record book, ranking in the top-four in four statistical categories. The senior moved up a spot in career batting average (.397) to fourth while jumping two spots to second all-time in on-base percentage (.482). Through 21 games, Cozza's nine home runs have moved her up seven spots to fourth all-time with 30 career home runs while moving into the top-20 in career doubles (30) and total bases (13th, 290). Cozza remains second all-time in highest slugging-percengage with a .711 clip, moving her career slugging up from .645 heading into her final season.
MUCH IMPROVED OFFENSE
The Minutewomen have seen an improvement in 2018 through their first 21 games, posting a .287 team batting average compared to a .235 average a year ago at the same point in the season. UMass has scored 52 more runs and driven in 54 more while owning a team slugging-percentage of .427 with 16 home runs compared to .291 and three home runs last season. The Minutewomen have been getting on base at a higher clip as well, posting a .382 on-base percentage while reaching at just under .300 a season ago.
AMONG NATIONAL/LEAGUE LEADERS
Jena Cozza ranks in the top-10 nationally in five offensive categories, including a second-best national slugging-percentage (1.079) with the third-most runs per contest with 1.33. Cozza also ranks eighth in home runs per game (0.43) and fourth in on-base percentage (.610) while leading the A-10 in seven offensive categories. Kaycee Carbone ranks 45th in RBI per game (1.10) and 97th in home runs per game (0.34) while ranking third in the league in both categories. Kiara Oliver leads the A-10 in total strikeouts with 68 and ranks 81st nationally in strikeouts per seven innings with 7.4.
