Currently in the middle of a season-opening road trip to Florida, the UMass-Dartmouth softball team can call upon the services of a pair of Warwick natives this spring, namely Toll Gate product Jill Walsh and Pilgrim graduate Dyonna Rodas.

Rodas enters the 2024 campaign as the starting catcher for the Corsairs, taking her position behind the plate in four of the six games played to date, remaining in the batting order as the designated player in the other two contests.

The former Patriots spring got off to a powerful start last Saturday against Trine as she drilled a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to tie proceedings at a run apiece, but it was not enough to prevent a 3-1 setback to the number-one Thunder.

After being kept hitless in a meeting with Calvin later in the day, Rodas put together her best performance at the dish thus far in the Corsairs’ Sunday tilt versus Nichols, going 3-for-3 with a pair of runs batted in as UMass-Dartmouth claimed a 15-7 triumph.

She concluded day two of the tour with a double against Arcadia, driving home the go-ahead run in the form of Emma Talpey to break a 2-2 tie and spark a three-run frame that made the difference in a 5-2 Corsair decision over the Knights.

Monday was somewhat quieter for Rodas, extending her hitting streak to three straight with a base hit that plated Kinu Takasugi in a 4-3 loss to McDaniel and then having said streak come to a halt in another one-run defeat, falling 2-1 to Lasell.

While Rodas is an established veteran on the UMass-Dartmouth roster, Walsh has had to wait before assuming a more prominent role on-field, appearing in 21 games last season for the reigning Little East champions with five hits and a pair of stolen bases.

Based on early returns, the ex-Titan’s wait may be coming to a merciful end as she has had her name penciled into the Corsair starting nine four times, mostly as the left fielder but also spending time in right field.

Inside the batter’s box, Walsh is hitting at a .273 clip with a pair of runs scored, crossing home against Nichols and Lasell, the former capping off the first of two six-run frames in a game that was cut short by an inning due to the run rule.

With their mark now at 2-4, UMass-Dartmouth returns to the diamond after a day off on Wednesday with meetings versus Rutgers-Newark and Kean before concluding their Sunshine State tour the next day against Edgewood and Farmingdale State.

Pilgrim alum Jared Reminder’s junior year as a part of the Saint Anselm pitching staff has seen him emerge as a regular member of the Hawks’ rotation, starting all but one of his four appearances on the hill thus far.

Making his season debut in Saint Anselm’s contest with Southern Connecticut on February 17, the former Patriot hurled five strong innings against the Owls, scattering four hits with a pair of strikeouts as he combined with Adam Betty on a 10-0 blanking.

Eight days later, Reminder emerged from the bullpen for a four-inning stint against Saint Michael’s, earning credit for the 18-7 victory over the Purple Knights with four punchouts in temperatures hovering around the freezing mark.

The Hawks have since thawed out and are now in the midst of a four-game trip to North Carolina which will end on Tuesday with a visit to Barton, who dropped two of three on the road to Young Harris last weekend.

Heading into the matchup with the Bulldogs, Reminder currently owns a 2-1 record with an earned run average of 2.12, settling for a no-decision in the nightcap of Sunday’s twinbill with Dominican of New York, which concluded 4-3 in Saint Anselm’s favor.