April reigns

When rain did not interfere with the Boston University softball team’s schedule this weekend, the Terriers made sure to use April showers of another kind – hits from senior center fielder April Setterlund – to their advantage in three non-conference wins, one over Bryant University and two over the University of Rhode Island.

That is not to say the three wins in three games came easily, though.

On Thursday at home against Bryant (19-15), BU (23-12, 6-3) found itself in a 5-1 hole by the third inning thanks to freshman pitcher Holli Floetker’s unusually mediocre performance. Floetker – who owns a 2.05 ERA this season – lasted just 2.1 innings, giving up five runs on eight hits.

The Terriers showed some fight, though, and in the bottom of the inning they scored three times to make it 5-4. Setterlund doubled to center field to drive in freshman catcher Amy Ekart and redshirt freshman right fielder Jayme Mask, and then freshman third baseman Megan Volpano drove Setterlund in with a single up the middle.

Sophomore pitcher Whitney Tuthill relieved Floetker in the third and shut Bryant out for the last 4.2 innings, giving up just one hit. That paved the way for some Terrier heroics, as junior second baseman Melanie Delgado powered a go-ahead two-run home run over the left field fence to put BU up 6-5 in the bottom of the fourth.

Both offenses were held at bay for the final three innings, giving BU another come-from-behind win on a day when its starting pitcher was not at the top of her game, much to the delight of BU coach Shawn Rychcik.

“Holli didn’t have her best stuff and we had to hang in there and not give up too many extra runs, and we came back and got the win, so I was pretty happy,” Rychcik said.

The next day, BU visited URI (3-38) for a doubleheader.

Game one was far simpler than the Bryant win, as the Terriers scored early and often against URI pitcher Cassie Baker. With lone BU runs in the first and second innings, and two more in the third, sophomore pitcher Erin Schuppert had plenty of support in her complete-game effort. She gave up just two runs on six hits and five strikeouts as the Terriers tacked on five more runs late in the game for the 9-2 win.

The story of the game might not have been Schuppert’s performance, though, because redshirt first baseman Chelsea Kehr had one of her best games of the season. Kehr’s 3-for-5, five-RBI and two-runs-scored performance at the plate included a three-run home run in the sixth to put URI’s down for good.

“It’s nice to think she will go on a big run and stay hot. That’s not the way the game works,” Rychcik said of Kehr’s offensive explosion. “You kind of have peaks and valleys, and as long as she keeps producing and driving in runs in middle of the lineup, whether it’s by sacrifice flies or groundouts or whatever, I’ll be pretty happy.”

Game two was a completely different story. Senior pitcher Kelley Engman and a pair of URI hurlers engaged in a pitcher’s duel through the first six innings, but it all came unraveled for both teams in the seventh.

BU scored four times in the seventh – thanks in large part to a three-RBI double from junior left fielder Erica Casacci – only to see URI come back with four runs of its own to send the game to extras.

BU scored three more times in the eighth, once on Tuthill’s sacrifice fly and twice on senior catcher Caitlin Rentler’s double to go up for good, 7-4. Tuthill, pulling double duty, pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth to ensure the win, the team’s fifth in its last six games.

Although she did not get the win, Engman did give the team an important start in what was just her fifth pitching appearance of the season.

“Super performance,” Rychcik said. “It was real nice to see. I’m glad she got on the mound and had some real quality innings for us, and I wish she got the win. It was bad luck and we ended up giving up the lead, and she didn’t get involved in the decision but those are great innings for us and we’re happy for her.”