Softball Ends Road Trip With Dominant Win Over Cal to Win JMU Invitational

Sunday, March 8

Harrisonburg, Va.

University of Connecticut

15-5

University of California

13-10

UCONN

California

Photo by: Skip Zinn

Softball Ends Road Trip With Dominant Win Over Cal to Win JMU Invitational

3/8/2020 3:40:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Junior starting pitcher Marybeth Olson was nearly perfect and Olivia Sappington went 2-for-3 with three RBI's and a home run as the UConn softball team completed a 4-1 road trip at the JMU Invitational with an 8-0 dismantling of Cal on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Huskies improve to 15-5 and have been victorious in five of their last six games. Cal slips to 13-10 on the season.

Olson was outstanding against the Pac-12 power, facing one batter over the minimum in five efficient innings that included two strikeouts and no free passes. Olson improves to 9-0 on the year after her latest dominant performance and her ERA dipped to a miniscule 1.85 in 2020.

"I'm really proud of the team's performance this weekend," said head coach Laura Valentino. "Our offense was relentless and Marybeth Olson had an outstanding three days in the circle. Marybeth is a competitor and showed a lot of toughness throughout the weekend on multiple occasions. We are proud of what she was able to do for the team."

The Huskies seized a 2-0 lead in the top of the first after Sappington followed a two-out Briana Marcelino double with a home run over the right-center field wall.

After a 12-pitch shut down inning by Marybeth Olson, Carli Cutler took a 1-2 pitch deep with one out in the second, extending the UConn lead to 3-0 and effectively opening the floodgates.

Each of the next five Huskies reached base safely and the spurt included RBI singles from Sappington and Kiwi McDaniel and an RBI ground out from Samantha Barnett. UConn's five-run second inning came on the strength of four hits to break the game open.

Marcelino ended the day with a pair of hits, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI. She also notched her eighth stolen base of the year, which is tied for third in the American.

"This weekend was a great opportunity to see how we stacked up against some quality teams," Valentino added. "JMU is always a tough team so beating them twice and then beating a strong offensive team like Cal in the championship game says a lot about our team. We never gave up, we did the little things right, and we never stopped competing. It is very rewarding for us as a coaching staff to see our teams culture and core values show up on the field. We will continue to focus on getting better everyday and I'm looking forward to seeing our strong fight show up again this week."

The Huskies return to action on Tuesday, March 10 when the team travels to Hempstead, N.Y. for a midweek showdown with Hofstra. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.