Junior outfielder April Setterlund tied the single-season RBI record when she knocked in her 44th run in Boston University’s 4-3 loss to the University at Albany on Sunday. The record came in the midst of a relatively quiet weekend for Setterlund, who went 3-for-8 in three games with three RBIs.
“She’s almost doubled a normal batting average,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik. “If you’ve hit .300, it’s a good year. She’s hit close to .600. She’s going to double up on her numbers for RBIs, total bases, runs scored. All of those go along with the batting average.”
Setterlund leads America East with a .573 batting average. The second-place batter, senior Vicki Kavitsky of Stony Brook University, trails Setterlund with a .407 batting average.
Setterlund currently leads AE in every other offensive category as well, including total bases. In 33 games, Setterlund has amassed 104 bases. Her closest competitor in that category, junior Terren Hall of the University of Maine, has 75 total bases.
Losing their stride?
With three losses in their last five games, the Terriers have hit their worst rut of the season since they went 2-5 in the University of South Florida Under Armour Invitational at the beginning of March. These numbers, however, are not too indicative of how BU played over the last five games. The Terriers’ loss to Albany on Sunday was their first conference loss of the season, and they are still tied for first in AE with Maine.
“It’s tough to win three games in conference, and that’s why I was so impressed with the team on the first weekend of the year to come out with three wins,” Rychcik said. “Right now, we’re 5-1 [in the conference] and playing pretty well. We haven’t played bad in those games that we lost other than maybe one inning. There’s a difference between playing bad and getting beat, and we just got beat a couple of times.”
Begging you for mercy
The Terriers won an 11-0 romp over Albany via the “mercy” rule on Saturday. In NCAA softball, the “mercy” rule goes into effect if one team leads by eight or more runs after five innings. BU has won via mercy rule three times so far this season, and Saturday’s game marked the seventh time this season that the Terrier offense has reached double digits.
“If you aren’t really sharp on the mound and you don’t show some really good pitches, then [our lineup will] make you pay,” Rychcik said. “They stay aggressive, they swing the bat. We do walk our share, and that’s the most important thing this team does. They’ve found that line of being aggressive but still not swinging at balls. You’ve got to be good to get by this lineup.”
Tossing tandem throwing well
Senior pitcher Cassidi Hardy and her freshman counterpart Whitney Tuthill were untouchable in the first few innings of their outings on Saturday. Hardy, who is tied for first in AE in wins (12) with Stony Brook senior Alyssa Struzenberg, did not give up a hit until the fourth inning. She surrendered three runs on five hits while striking out six in a complete-game effort.
Tuthill tossed a one-hitter in the second game on Saturday, and Albany’s lone hit did not come until the last inning of the game, when junior outfielder Jessica Bergin hit a double to right.
“Whitney’s fortunate right now,” Rychcik said. “They don’t know what she throws and how she throws so she’s done well against them. Cassidi’s done well too, but it does catch up to you a little bit when batters have seen you on a regular basis.”
Cowan named AE Rookie of the Week
Freshman outfielder Taylor Cowan earned AE Rookie of the Week honors after batting .357 with two runs scored and three RBIs in five games. Cowan does a bit of everything for the Terriers. She is fifth on the team with 19 RBIs and has logged 3.2 innings in the pitchers’ circle for the Terriers, where she boasts a 1.91 ERA.
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