After the first two games of its series against Stony Brook University were marred by offensive struggles and seventh-inning disappointments, the Boston University softball team seemed in need of a miracle. That was what it got in the final game of the series, an 8-3 victory win off the home run hitting bats of the middle hitters from BU’s lineup.
After their third loss in a row it seemed like the Terriers were beginning to slump. Though the team’s pitching had been holding off its opponents, the offense was failing to produce, having scored only three runs in the past third games. All three runs had come in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday morning that BU ultimately lost 4-3.
“We couldn’t put a hit together to get on the board,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik.
For the three preceding games, the Terriers had been hampered by an ability to deliver the big hit when necessary, not putting a run across the plate in two games, and failing to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the bottom of the seventh.
“I just see us being very tentative,” Rychcik said after Saturday’s loss. “Not lacking confidence, but just not being aggressive. Not going after it and trying to take the opportunity.”
On Sunday afternoon, all of that changed as the Terriers’ bats came to life for the first time in days, slamming in run after run as they defeated Stony Brook 8-3.
After a scoreless and hitless first inning, the Terriers started out the second inning with singles by both sophomore centerfielder Chelsea O’Connor and sophomore shortstop Brittany Clendenny. Rookie left fielder Mandy Fernandez hit a three-run home run to right field to bring them both home. The home run was Fernandez’ third of the year and brought her season RBI total to 11.
The runs provided a nice cushion for the Terriers, who had been faced with multiple come back situations in the bottom of the seventh inning in recent games.
“It takes some pressure off the offense, trying to get that big two-out hit all the time,” Rychcik said.
After holding off Stony Brook in the top of the third, the Terriers broke the score open even further in the bottom of the same inning. Senior Erica Casacci and sophomore third baseman Megan Volpano both reached base on singles and a bunt by sophomore catcher Amy Ekart loaded the bases.
O’Connor came up to bat and knocked a grand slam over the left field fence and into the batting cage, bringing the Terriers’ lead up to 7-0. O’Connor went 3-3 in the game with 4 RBIs. The four RBIs bumped her season total to 16.
“It’s just nice to know you’ve got a cushion,” Rychcik said. “When you’ve got an eight-run lead or a six-run lead there is a little margin for error.”
The Terriers’ strong offensive production forced a change in pitching for Stony Brook as they replaced starter Taylor Chain with Christine Lucido for the rest of the game.
The pitching change did not seem to have the quieting effect on the Terriers’ bats that Stony Brook sought, as Clendenny knocked the first pitch she saw out of the park into right field. It was Clendenny’s second home run of the year and her 18th RBI. She has the second most RBI’s on the team, trailing only Ekart’s 20.
“We’ve played so many one- or two-run games; I don’t know, we’ve probably got [about] 20 one- or two-run games over the course of the year,” Rychcik said. “But it was just nice to take a deep breath for a minute.”
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
