HOLYOKE – Sam Breen hadn’t thrown a baseball since middle school. UMass’ super duper senior women’s basketball forward didn’t even know she was on first pitch duty for Tuesday’s Valley Blue Sox game against North Adams until Minutewomen head coach Tory Verdi joked about it that morning.
Lack of preparation aside, Breen leaned on her experience and efficiency in the clutch on the mound at MacKenzie Stadium. The Gibsonia, Pa., native played softball until eighth grade before choosing basketball.
“For one, I was a catcher, not good for my knees,” Breen said. “And two, indoor sport.”
She looked at home throwing the baseball to Blue Sox pitching coach Phillip Guidrey, lofting it comfortably into this glove. Breen pointed at her teammates Angelique Ngalakulondi, Sydney Taylor and Destiney Philoxy before a handshake.
The Minutewomen were in Holyoke with their Atlantic 10 championship trophy and the UMass hockey team’s Hockey East championship Lou Lamoriello Trophy as part of UMass Athletics night at MacKenzie Stadium. It’s a tradition that extends back a decade in Holyoke. Fans took selfies with and pictures of the trophies, picked up posters and generally built the hype for the upcoming UMass athletics season.
Piath Gabriel
The A-10 trophy has been on something of a victory tour since the Minutewomen captured it for the first time in Delaware this March.
“It’s been fun. It’s gained a lot of attention seeing people take selfies and pictures with it. It has been awesome knowing we earned that and it’s that big in the community, knowing people are as excited about it as we are,” Breen said.
As fun as that’s been, UMass isn’t basking too long in past glory. The Minutewomen are loaded for their title defense and another potential NCAA tournament run. Three transfers joined the program this offseason: UConn’s Piath Gabriel, Sain Joseph’s Laila Fair and Kristin Williams of Pensacola State College. Newington, Conn., native Lilly Ferguson will also join the squad as a freshman. More importantly than outside additions, though, the Minutewomen will benefit from Breen’s continued eligibility, Philoxy returning for a fifth year of eligibility and improvement from its young core.
“As soon as the season ended, our focus shifted to winning the next one. Obviously we’re going to celebrate our successes, but pretty quickly we’re focusing on doing what we need to do to repeat,” Breen said. “It’s hard to win a championship. It’s harder to win back to back.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.