UConn hosts Bryant University for their mid-week game at the Burrill Family Field on Tuesday, Apr. 24. The Huskies cruised to a 4-1 win over the Bulldogs, leading to their second mid-week victory. (Photo by Jon Sammis/The Daily Campus)
After finishing last weekend 3-1 the UConn softball team will look to continue its success in the USC Upstate Softball Tournament this weekend. UConn will face off against Boston University, Bowling Green and then the host, USC Upstate, twice.
Behind strong performances from RHP Marybeth Olson and third basemen Carli Cutler, UConn took down Michigan State and Bryant twice last weekend before dropping its game against FIU. Olson put in a complete game shutout versus Bryant last Saturday, striking out 11 and giving up just three hits. Cutler led the way with four RBI on the offensive side of the ball.
UConn will play a double-header on both Friday and Saturday this weekend. The first game will be at 9 a.m. Friday against Boston University, who are 2-3 so far this season despite going 39-20 last year.
The Terriers have been led by senior catcher Emily Morrow, senior infielder Alex Heinen and sophomore RHP Ali DuBois. Murrow and Heinen have combined for 10 RBI through five games, and Murrow is hitting .471/.500/.471 so far. DuBois has carried much of the pitching duties so far with a 1.26 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 16.2 innings.
The second game of Friday and Saturday’s double-headers will be against USC Upstate who are 3-1 as well this season. They have a strong run-game attack, going 16-17 on stolen base attempts this season already. UConn has allowed six stolen bases through four games so far.
USC Upstate features junior catcher Alyssa Oakes, senior outfielder Brittany Case and senior RHP Christina Biggerstaff. Oakes has already hit two home runs this season to go along with four RBI and a .444/.583/1.111 slash-line in four games played. Case is hitting .500/.583/.600 with four stolen bases and three runs scored. Biggerstaff is sporting a .54 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 13 innings.
UConn will match up against Bowling Green at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Falcons have yet to play a game this season but have some notable returners this year. However, Bowling Green did lose its top offensive weapon in Aspen Searle, who got a hit in all but 11 games last year en route to a .374 batting average.
This season the Falcons will send out senior outfielder Kali Holcomb, sophomore corner infielder Sarah Gonzalez and senior RHP Meredith Miller. Holcomb led the team with eight home runs last year as well as 46 RBI in 52 games. Gonzalez showed up in her freshman campaign as she hit seven home runs and drove in 20 runs, but she also led the team in strikeouts with 29. Miller was the team’s horse last year, putting in 171.1 innings of work while posting a 2.94 ERA with 151 strikeouts and completing 16 games.
UConn has not played any of these teams since April 2014, when it dropped its one game versus Boston University 3-1.
Mike Mavredakis is a campus correspondent for the Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at michael.quinn-mavredakis@uconn.edu.
