BOSTON — After a slow start to her freshman season with the UMass-Boston softball team, Lynn native Tori Dicenso’s bat is starting to heat up. And with the Beacons moving into the Little East Conference portion of the schedule, Dicenso’s coming around with perfect timing.
Dicenso, a St. Mary’s alumna, has posted a .269 batting average with 11 RBI and 14 hits in 21 games this spring. She’s tallied a .356 on base percentage and .365 slugging percentage. Dicenso hit the first home run of her collegiate career Tuesday night in a loss to Emmanuel College.
After a tough start that saw Dicenso log just two hits through her first seven games, adjustments have paid dividends for the freshman first baseman.
“I had a slow start to the season. I think I was in my own head for most of it,” she said. “Now that I’m out of it, I’m starting to get back into the swing of things. I’m starting to get used to playing softball at the college level.”
The biggest difference between high school and college softball for Dicenso was the workload at the higher level. With multiple doubleheaders scheduled weekly, she quickly learned there’s a busier pace on the college diamond.
“It’s a lot more competitive and a lot more intense,” Dicenso said. “It’s a lot more fun too. It’s a much faster pace and we play a lot more games. This week we have eight games in four days because we play so many doubleheaders. It’s a lot more softball.
“The intensity that came with state tournament games in high school is the type of intensity that we play with here every game. Even if they’re not playoff games, college softball brings a lot of intensity.”
Dicenso’s recent surge at the plate has seen the former Spartan notch at least one hit in six of her last seven games. The Beacons are 4-3 during that stretch, 8-14 overall for the season. UMass Boston is 1-1 in LEC play, splitting a doubleheader with Plymouth State.
“We’re hitting well,” she said. “We’re all starting to get into the swing of things at the plate. Defensively, we’re all communicating well with each other. We have a lot of good hitters on our team. We’re like a family and we always support one another.”
With 19 games remaining this season, Dicenso and the Beacons believe they’re playing their best softball and peaking at the right time. Thirteen of their remaining games are against LEC opponents.
“This is the perfect time for us to be playing as well as we are,” Dicenso said. “It’s the right time for us to be working together as a team. We played great competition in our (early-season) Florida trip. The teams we played were all very good.”
Things are also going for well for Dicenso in the classroom, where’s she’s had to learn the ins and outs of managing college academics and softball.
“It’s a lot different than I expected,” she said. “First semester wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be. Second semester was pretty tough with all of the commitments that come with softball. I’m starting to get into the hang of it.
“I didn’t want to go too far from home,” Dicenso added. “I love Boston and I wanted to be in the city so that was a big part of my decision to choose UMass-Boston. I wanted to play softball here so that was another big part of it. I had a couple family members that went here and I heard good things about the school. Things have gone well so far.”
Dicenso and the Beacons host Lesley for a doubleheader this afternoon.
