In its third away game in as many days, the Boston University softball team fell in walk-off fashion to University of Massachusetts-Amherst 3-2 Wednesday evening for its second straight loss. UMass center fielder Cyndil Matthew scored on an error to give the Minutewomen the win, the 14th in their last 15 games.
UMass (23-15) pitcher Sara Plourde – who is among the best pitchers in the country – was on her game from the start. She began by striking out the first six Terriers she faced, and did not allow hit until senior center fielder April Setterlund doubled to left center with two outs in the fourth. Setterlund’s effort was all for naught, though, as freshman third baseman Megan Volpano followed that up with a strikeout.
UMass was able to touch up sophomore pitcher Erin Schuppert for three runs in her six innings of work, the first of which came in the third. Matthew – UMass’ No. 9 hitter – doubled with one out, and came around to score on a single to second base by second baseman Kyllie Magill.
Schuppert avoided more trouble in the fourth when she stranded a runner at third, but she then gave up a home run to shortstop Jordan Storro to lead off the fifth. BU’s ERA leader walked the high wire again in the sixth when she walked and hit a batter before getting Storro to fly out to center field to avoid further trouble.
The Terriers (27-14, 9-3 AE) finally broke through against Plourde in the seventh, when Setterlund launched a two-run home run over the center field fence to drive in junior left fielder Eric Casacci, who had singled. Plourde retired the next three Terriers to send the game to the bottom of the seventh 2-2.
Matthew, again pestering Schuppert, singled to lead off the bottom half of the inning, forcing BU coach Shawn Rychcik to make a pitching change. He called on senior Kelley Engman, who pitched in just her seventh game all season.
“It was back around to the top of the order, and Erin wasn’t going to face them,” Rychcik said. “They had seen Erin last time [on April 6] and this time, and I just thought it was time to make a change…Kelley I thought was a change of pace, and could get a couple ground balls and give us a chance to get out of the inning.”
Engman did indeed get a couple ground balls, but the Terrier infield did not handle most of them. After Engman uncorkied a wild pitch, moving Matthew to second, Magill singled to red shirt freshman first baseman Chelsea Kehr. One batter later, Engman induced a ground ball from first baseman Aundry Boutin that junior second baseman Melanie Delgado could not throw cleanly, allowing Matthew to score.
BU managed just three hits off Plourde, who finished the game with 14 strikeouts, including the 1000th of her collegiate career. Of these three hits, two of them were from Setterlund, and both of those were for extra bases.
“She’s one of the best pitchers in the country and she really had it going today,” Rychcik said. “She was throwing a bit into a wind and it really made her ball drop and she threw very well. She’s probably the best pitcher we’ve seen by far all year.”
Despite the loss – which was by the same score the Terriers dropped their previous game against UMass – Rychcik was pleased with the results.
“I thought we played a very tough team and we hung in there. Just like I thought it was going to come down to the last couple innings. We did a good job hanging in there early and making plays,” Rychcik said. “I thought we really competed well.
“I didn’t think of it as struggles today, I saw it as a softball game against a very good team and a very good pitcher. It never crossed my mind. We’re a pretty good road team and I don’t make much of it. I feel good the way we played today.”
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