The Boston University softball team emerged from its first weekend of the season with a 3-2 record at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla. Despite losses to Illinois State University and No. 17/18 University of Louisiana-Lafayette, the Terriers finished the weekend strong with a 8-1 victory over University of Illinois on Sunday afternoon.
The Terriers opened the tournament on Friday with an offensive battle against Illinois State (7-8) as the Red Birds slugged out a 12-8 victory. The Red Birds took a 1-0 lead in the first and added two more runs in the third before the Terriers scored in the bottom half of the third.
After two Illinois State errors, the Terriers added two more runs to the scoreboard before a six-run rally in the fourth put Illinois on top for good.
“Our first game we were just kind of getting our feet under us but for the rest of the way on we did a really good job,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik.
Despite the loss, the Terriers’ offense was strong for most of the game as sophomore right fielder Jayme Mask went 3-for-4 and classmate and transfer student Chelsea O’Connor hit a two-run home run. Sophomore third baseman Megan Volpano also had two RBIs for the Terriers as the sophomore class led the team.
“Two and three [spots] in my lineup’s a little different than most,” Rychcik said. “My two-hitter [O’Connor] is expected to drive in runs . . . So our two-hitter is really a regular three-hitter.”
In the second game of the day, sophomore pitcher Holli Floetker pitched a 3-0 shutout over Winthrop University, giving the Terriers their first victory of the season. Floetker allowed only three hits.
Leadoff hitter Mask continued to score runs, putting another two on the board for the Terriers over the Eagles (5-8). Mask stole second and third, then scored the first run of the game on a Volpano sacrifice fly.
“Winthrop had just come off a 2-1 victory over Tennessee,” Rychcik said. “Our offense I thought was really, really good. Great adjustments at the plate and we put the ball in play a lot.”
The Terriers’ offense continued to shine in their first game on Saturday, a 5-3 victory over the University of South Florida. After junior pitcher Erin Shuppert allowed two runs in the first inning, Floekter came in for the Terriers and pitched the rest of the game, earning her second victory in as many days.
USF held its 2-0 lead until the fourth inning when the Terriers scored their first runs of the game. With two outs and one on, junior second baseman Emily Roesch hit a two-run homer.
O’Connor added two more RBIs with a two-run single, and sophomore catcher Amy Ekart drove O’Connor in for the Terriers’ final run of the game.
A 5-1 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette marked an offensive decline for BU, as the Terriers failed to score another run after an RBI double by Ekart in the bottom of the first. Floekter started the game for the Terriers, earning her first loss of the season after allowing five runs on six hits in the third inning.
Neither team scored again, and junior Whitney Tuthill pitched the last four innings for the Terriers.
BU finished the NFCA Leadoff Classic with an 8-1 victory over the University of Illinois as Floetker notched her third victory of the season, again pitching a complete game and allowing only one run on eight hits.
The game remained scoreless until a strong offensive push by the Terriers in the fifth inning put them on top for good. Volpano continued her strong offensive play, batting in three runs to bring her weekend total to six – a number matched by O’Connor.
“I thought the middle of the line-up did their job,” Rychcik said. “They drove in runs. That’s what their job is.”
A five-run seventh inning sealed the Terriers’ victory. Two Illinois errors and continued impressive base-running by Mask allowed the Terriers to build up their lead as Roesch drove in the Terriers’ final run of the game.
One run in the bottom of the inning ruined Floetker’s bid for a shutout, but the Terriers closed out their first weekend of play on a strong note.
“We’re going to get better because we’re going to see better competition each week,” Rychcik said. “And if we’re hitting that competition right off the bat I think we’re going to continue to get better.”
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