UMass softball has four fun years ahead of it with "Q" at short.
Freshman Quianna Diaz-Patterson
University of Massachusetts freshman softball shortstop Quianna Diaz-Patterson was more than ready to step between the lines to open the season, and follow up on her tremendous career at Amherst Regional High School.
Maybe we shouldn’t say step between the lines, but over them, because “Q”, which is what everyone calls her, is a superstitious soul and stepping on the baselines is a disgraceful violation.
So she cleans the bag around the second base area when in the field, and the way she wears her hair certainly has its effect. And for the skeptical, you can’t say it hasn’t worked well.
Usually, it’s a hard-throwing pitcher with a great riser that catches the pre-season attention of UMass softball followers. And although Sara Plourde is a great pitcher, there are plenty of eyes staring at short.
“When someone calls me Quianna, I don’t know what to say because I don’t hear that often,” Diaz-Patterson said. “It’s like one of those things you hear when your parents are mad at you.”
And what a start for Q. In the double-header split in Miami, Fla. Friday, Diaz-Patterson had three doubles and an RBI, and played error-less shortstop. UMass lost 3-2 to UAB in the first game after a pair of seventh-inning homers, but came back to defeat Illinois 4-1 in the second game.
On Thursday, coach Elaine Sortino wasn’t even willing to assure that Diaz-Patterson would start as the long-time Minutewomen mentor was still trying to figure out how to set up her infield.
But looking at Diaz-Patterson’s high-school softball career, it’s hard not to get excited about her potential.
She was all this and all that in numerous categories at Amherst. She attempted 107 stolen bases, and made it every time. She hit .561, had an on-base percentage of .612, and a slugging percentage of .934 with 17 homers and 61 RBI’s and 144 hits.
The 144 hits fits right in with her love of the number 4. She has a fixation about it, having once worn 14, then 54, then 34, and now 4.
“It’s totally surreal,” Diaz-Patterson said from the Tampa airport Thursday awaiting the stop-over flight to Miami as she readies mentally for her first collegiate action.
“I don’t even remember the hits,” Diaz-Patterson said of her three doubles after Friday’s double-header. “I just remember diving into second.”
Sortino said that Diaz-Patterson has “an explosive bat, takes her hacks, and is a good shortstop.”