George Washington University
Massachusetts
Softball Travels to UMass for Final Regular Season Road Series of 2023
4/27/2023 10:19:00 AM | Softball
Buff and Blue continue postseason push in Amherst
WASHINGTON - GW softball turns to the page to its final road games of the 2023 regular season, a three-game series at UMass. The Colonials will square off against the Minutewomen in a doubleheader on Friday (12 p.m. & 2 p.m.) before finishing with Game Three on Saturday (12 p.m.).
TOUGH OUTS
Graduate student Arizona Ritchie and senior Maggie Greco have been particularly tough outs for opponents this season. Greco is second in the conference and first on GW in walks per game (.62) and also leads the Buff and Blue in on-base percentage (.422), while Ritchie is second on GW in on-base percentage (.394) and has only struck out eight times this season - an average of one per every 15.8 at-bats, which is fourth-best in the A-10.
HISTORY AGAINST UMASS
GW trails UMass in the all-time series, 33-9, but are winners of its last five straight. The Buff and Blue had success against the Minutewomen last season, winning all three contests by a cumulative score of 19-1.Â
Greco will look to have another big series against the Minutewomen. She was 3-3 in Game Two of last year's series and finished the series with four hits, two runs and two RBI.
A LOOK AT THE MINUTEWOMEN
UMass enters the weekend with a 14-29 record, including a 5-14 mark in conference play. The Minutewomen are currently on a seven-game losing skid, dating back to April 16 against St. Bonaventure.
Chloe Whittier and Bella Pantoja lead the Minutewomen in nearly every hitting category. Whittier leads UMass in batting average (.336), OPS (.880) and walks (18), while Pantoja enters with team-highs in hits (45), RBI (22) and total bases (63).
Three Minutewomen have pitched over 70 innings this year: Julianne Bolton, Jesse DiPasquale and Natalee Horton. Each have ERAs near 4.50 and are allowing opponents to bat near .300.
