The Terriers maintained their lead on the conference with two wins. Kristyn UlandayAided by, what else this season, the power of the home run, the Boston University softball team took two of three games from the University of Hartford (20-22, 10-7 America East) hitting back-to-back shots twice in this weekend’s series victory over the Hawks.
The Terriers (30-11, 13-3 America East) started the weekend off right Saturday with a 9-1 mercy-rule victory in five innings. Freshman pitcher Megan Currier tallied her 16th complete game of the season, giving up three hits and an earned run, while walking three and striking three out to improve her record to 16-3.
Following a scoreless first inning, the Terrier offense exploded for five runs in the top of the second at the UH Softball field. After two walks to start the inning, sophomore Brook Hudson singled to left center, plating freshman Rachel Moeller and sophomore Megan Coughlin. Senior tri-captain Brandi Shields, who finished 4-for-4 with two doubles, then smacked one of her doubles to drive in a run.
With two outs in the same inning, sophomore catcher Christy Leath hit an RBI double to right center. After the Terriers loaded the bases, Coughlin drew an RBI walk to cap the second-inning scoring.
BU added four more runs in the fourth, when sophomore Melissa Dubay and freshman Rachel Moeller hit back-to-back homers. Dubay’s three-run shot to center scored Leath and freshman Rachel Hebert.
But in the second game, the Terriers played like a much different team, losing via the mercy rule, 9-1, in five innings.
Senior Brittany Detwiler took the loss for BU, dropping to 5-4 on the season. The hurler went four innings and gave up four runs (two earned) on five hits while walking five and striking out two. Moeller came in for relief in the fifth and gave up five earned runs on three hits and four walks, only getting one out before the mercy rule was invoked.
“We were a little sloppy in the second game,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik. “Brit threw pretty well, we just didn’t give her much support.”
The Terrier offense also struggled, scoring just one run on sophomore Nora Militz’s RBI double.
“We tried to control the strike zone but we lost our aggressiveness,” Rychcik said. “It’s a fine line, trying to control the strike zone but staying aggressive.”
Hawks freshman hurler Brittney Stratton shut down BU, striking out five while going the abbreviated distance.
But in the rubber game Sunday, the Terriers got another chance at Stratton, the defending America East Rookie of the Week. This time, the powerful Terrier offense figured out the freshman, recording 13 hits and seven earned runs in a 7-3 BU victory.
“Our adjustment was amazing,” Rychcik said. “We drove in some big runs. We were on the aggressive side. [Stratton's] a rise-ball pitcher, and we made her bring the ball down. We beat their number one kid, and we hit her pretty hard.”
Senior slugger Chiya Louie hit her 10th and 11th home runs of the year and finished the day 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Louie got BU on the board in the first with a solo shot to left field. She tacked on her second homer of the game in the fifth with another solo home run to left, and Leath went yard in the next at bat.
“Chiya’s performance was huge,” Rychcik said. “You want to get the lead [early] when you’re on the road. That’s what you want from a senior.”
Currier earned the win again for the Terriers, going the distance for the 17th time this year and earning her 17th victory. She gave up three runs (two earned) and 10 hits while striking out a season-high five batters. Currier has been the only consistent and healthy pitcher for BU this season, amassing more than half of the Terriers’ victories.
“We’ve had a beat-up staff since three weeks into the season,” Rychcik said. “I don’t know how much concern there is about 30-11. That eases my mind. It’s not that I’m overconfident, I just can’t lose sleep over things, because we’re 30-11.”
The two wins moved the Terriers one step closer to ensuring a regular-season conference championship. Now up two-and-a-half games on UMBC, the Terriers are just one victory away from locking up the regular season America East crown, and with that, the privilege of hosting the conference tournament.
“We just want to keep winning games,” Rychcik said.
