Just days after getting off to a hot 3-0 start in America East play, the Boston University softball team struggled to keep their winning streak going against University of Maine this weekend, winning 3-2 Saturday afternoon before being swept 8-2 and 6-1 on Sunday.
“I don’t think we had our best games this weekend,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik. “We were sloppy in all parts of the game. We didn’t hit real well, pitching was average, and we didn’t play defense again, so I’m just real disappointed in our performances.”
The Terriers (18-10, 4-2 AE) got off to a quick start on Saturday thanks to redshirt freshman right fielder Jayme Mask’s single and stolen base. Senior center fielder April Setterlund doubled moments later to drive Mask in, stole third and came home on freshman third baseman Megan Volpano’s infield single.
Maine (14-20, 5-1 AE) came right back with a run of its own in the second inning, but Mask singled and stole second again in the bottom half of the inning before eventually coming home on Volpano’s sacrifice fly.
Mask would single and steal for a third time in the fourth inning to tie the BU single-game record for stolen bases, but did not come around to score.
“She gets on base and it’s an instant double,” Rychcik said of the team’s leadoff hitter. “Most balls after that are going to be a run. It’s great having that speed at the top of the order, and she uses it well, and she’s been a pretty good baserunner here for us.”
The Black Bears added a run in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk to narrow the score to 3-2, but freshman pitcher Holli Floetker (7-2) buckled down for most of the last three innings to get the win. She went all seven innings while giving up two runs on seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts.
“She had a lot of misses and pitches that weren’t setting up the next pitch,” Rychcik said, “but it’s good that she got the win and was able to get some outs down the stretch for us.”
On Sunday, a mostly-punchless Terrier offense was shut down by Maine pitchers Ashley Kelley and Beth Spoeher in games one and two, respectively.
In game one, Setterlund had a second-inning two-RBI single up the middle to put BU up 2-1, but Maine went on to score seven runs – including three in each of the sixth and seventh innings – to put the game out of reach.
Sophomore Whitney Tuthill (5-5) was tagged with the loss, giving up seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits in 6.1 innings.
Game two yielded more of the same, as Setterlund’s solo home run in the first to tie the score at 1-1 would be the sole offensive highlight for the Terriers.
Sophomore Erin Schuppert (6-2) went all seven innings for the loss, giving up six runs (five earned) on six hits, five walks and seven strikeouts. The team’s ERA leader kept the Terriers within striking distance until Maine designated hitter Meghan McLain hit a three-run home run to straightaway center in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach.
The Terriers had a brief attempted rally in the bottom of the inning, as freshman shortstop Brittany Clendenny singled – her fourth hit of the day – and junior second baseman Melanie Delgado doubled before Volpano grounded out to first.
The team’s case was not helped by its defense on Sunday, as it racked up four errors, two wild pitches and two passed balls to lead to three unearned runs. The team, which has a .951 fielding percentage, has had problems on defense for most of the season.
“We gave a couple routine outs away, and they’re a pretty good team, so they’ll put the ball in play a lot,” Rychcik said. “You’ve got to make plays or they’ll do that to you.”
To make matters worse, BU missed the presence of redshirt freshman Chelsea Kehr, who missed all three games with an undisclosed injury that she suffered while playing at University of Connecticut last Wednesday.
“She’s hopefully going to be back some point this week,” Rychcik said. “We’re just trying to get her back. She’s not going to be out for a long, long period of time. It’s just a day-to-day thing.”
BU will resume play on Wednesday with a 4 p.m. game at home against University of Massachusetts.
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