Fresh off a conference sweep, the Boston University softball team is looking to win its ninth straight game against College of the Holy Cross Tuesday afternoon in Worcester.
On Monday, the Terriers (27-12, 9-3 America East) completed a three-game sweep of University of Hartford with three dominant offensive outings. During the course of the series, BU scored a total of 29 runs and gave up four.
Leading BU throughout the series were the lineup’s four and five spots. Freshman third baseman Megan Volpano and redshirt freshman first baseman Chelsea Kehr went a combined 13-for-17 during the series with 12 RBIs.
“The middle of our order was really producing runs and driving them in for us,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik.
Volpano and Kehr are two of the six BU players who are hitting over .300 this season.
On the mound, the Terriers had three complete-game performances from the arms of freshman Holli Floetker, sophomore Whitney Tuthill and sophomore Erin Schuppert. In the first game, Floetker (10-3) gave up seven hits over seven innings and gave up two runs while striking out five. Tuthill had similar success, giving up six hits and two runs with two strikeouts for her eighth win of the season.
It was Schuppert, though, who pulled it all together for a complete-game shutout in the final game. Schuppert tallied seven strikeouts in five innings and gave up only three hits in her ninth win of the season.
When the Terriers last faced off against Holy Cross in March 2010, they swept the two-game series on the back of senior center fielder April Setterlund. During the series, Setterlund went 6-for-6 with four home runs, one double and 13 RBIs.
Although Setterlund’s numbers are down this season, it is not because of a lack of strong at-bats from her. Rather, it is the result of opposing team’s sensitivity to pitching to her.
In 38 games this season, Setterlund already has 35 walks. Last season in 57 outings she had 37 bases on balls.
With Volpano and Kehr’s recent offensive surges, opposing pitchers will find themselves with a decision to make – face Setterlund or face the two of the best hitters in BU’s lineup.
“You can walk April and pitch to our two hottest hitters in our lineup at four and five,” Rychcik said. “That’s the luxury of the way we built this lineup. You want to walk [Setterlund], then you’ll have to deal with two great hitters behind her. It’s a tough spot for anyone to face our lineup right now. You want to walk somebody, then you’re going to put somebody in scoring position.”
In their most recent outing, the Crusaders (15-22) salvaged the final game of a four-game series against Colgate University with a 10-7 win on Monday. Holy Cross had lost the previous three games in the series.
Infielder Caitlin Belanger leads the team with a .414 batting average and a .586 slugging percentage. She also leads the team in stolen bases with fifteen. So far this season, the Crusaders have stolen 60 bases out of an attempted 96.
“I know they traditionally run a lot on the bases and put pressure on you,” Rychcik said. “I think they’ve struggled a bit this year.”
One of the bigger issues for Holy Cross the season has been pitching. The team carries a combined ERA of 3.81, compared to opponents who are holding them to 3.64 earned runs.
For Rychcik, continuing to win is the most important thing.
“We’re going down there to win, and if we don’t come back with a win I’ll be awful disappointed,” Rychcik said. “I hope we just play up to our potential. I think it’s important for us to play another good game, do the right things, put the ball in play, put pressure on them offensively, defensively make good plays. That being said, I’d like to think we’re going to go down there and get a win.”
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