After defeating the University of Hartford in dominant fashion during a doubleheader on Sunday, the Boston University softball team completed the sweep on the backs of redshirt freshman first baseman Chelsea Kehr and sophomore pitcher Erin Schuppert Monday afternoon. Kehr hit her third grand slam of the season while Schuppert pitched her third shutout in the 9-0 victory.
“It was just a good game, we did what we wanted to do,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik. “If I’d put down on paper what I’d like to see happen – it would come out that way.”
The Terriers (27-12, 9-3 America East) started up their offense in the first inning when redshirt freshman right fielder Jayme Mask walked and stole second. With one out, senior center fielder April Setterlund hit an infield single to move Mask over to third. Mask then scored on a wild pitch from Hartford pitcher Siera Sheehan. Freshman third baseman Megan Volpano, who went 8-11 during the series, then hit a single to right center to score Setterlund from second.
BU scored five runs in the third inning after a silent second frame. With two outs and Mask on second, Setterlund walked. Both runners advanced on a passed ball before Volpano was also walked. Then Kehr stepped up to the plate and ripped a grand slam for her team-leading seventh homerun of the year.
“It’s hard to believe that she’s hit three grand slams this season. It’s a tough thing to do,” Rychcik said.
Freshman shortstop Brittany Clendenny kept the two-out hitting barrage going with a single up the middle. She then scored on freshman catcher Amy Ekart’s double to right field.
To cap the scoring, the Terriers tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning. Mask once again got on base after being hit by a pitch. She advanced to second on a single to left field from junior left fielder Erica Casacci. After Setterlund hit into a fielder’s choice, putting runners on first and second with two outs, Volpano doubled down the right field line to account for the final score.
Kehr and Volpano finished the day a combined 3-for-4 with seven RBIs. Rychcik said he was impressed with how Kehr and Volpano have done in the four and five spots in the lineup.
“The middle of the order did a great job,” Rychcik said. “Volpano was [8-for-11] on the weekend which is incredible. She drove in eight or nine runs, had a couple of homeruns. She had a real nice series and weekend.
“Those two have taken four and five in our lineup and produced a lot of runs.”
On the mound, Schuppert pitched a complete-game shutout, giving up only three hits and striking out seven against Hartford (7-30, 2-10), which finds itself in the basement of AE. With the win, Schuppert moves to 9-3 on the season with an impressive 1.51 ERA, the lowest on the team.
“She did a nice job,” Rychcik said. “She got ahead pretty much on hitters and I think [Hartford’s] few hits were pretty weak and off the end of the bat. She just had a nice outing.”
For Rychcik, sweeping the conference series was critical to BU potentially winning the AE regular season title.
“If we didn’t sweep, we don’t have a chance at first place,” Rychcik said. “You don’t want to lose to the last-place team in the conference. You want to have good outings and control of the games. We’re a better team than they are. RBI-wise, record-wise, schedule-wise, we’re a better team and we needed to come show we were, and we did just that.”
The win was the eighth straight for the Terriers.
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