Terrier junior third baseman Megan Volpano recorded 2 of BU’s 4 hits off Binghamton’s starter.
Once the New England weather finally began to cooperate, the Boston University softball team was able to start regular season play this past weekend. With games against Providence College and Binghamton University behind them, the Terriers will finally play their home opener as they take on the University of Connecticut and local rival Boston College Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
“We’re just excited to be in our field and our own dugout and play in front of our family and friends,” said BU coach Kathryn Gleason.
The Terriers (9-16-1, 1-2) were finally able to get some practice in on their home field in anticipation for Wednesday and Thursday’s games.
“It’s cold and windy but it’s still nice to be on our field so those are the conditions we’re going to play in [Wednesday] so we’ll be ready,” Gleason said.
After a win and a tie against Providence (10-17-1) last Thursday, the Terriers dropped their conference-opening series against Binghamton (11-10, 2-1) 1-2 this past weekend. After splitting the Saturday doubleheader with two one-run games, BU dropped the final game of the series, 8-0, Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s game marked another chapter in the Terriers’ continuing issues with inconsistent offensive play. Binghamton’s starter allowed only four hits, two of which were recorded by junior third baseman Megan Volpano.
This offensive success brought Volpano’s batting average up to .304, making she and junior right fielder Jayme Mask (.333) the Terriers’ only players with averages above .300. Mask continues to lead the Terriers offensively, with a .418 on-base percentage and 16 stolen bases.
“[Jayme’s] success is what gets our team going,” Gleason said. “She’s a spark plug. She’s the one that leads us off, takes some pitches so that we can see the pitcher.”
After leading the team with 12 RBIs during tournament play, junior catcher Amy Ekart failed to knock a single run in for the Terriers in the last five games.
“We’ve been leaving way too many runners on base so we’re just looking to bring those runners in,” Gleason said.
Despite allowing five runs in the 8-0 loss to Binghamton, senior pitcher Whitney Tuthill remains the pitching staff’s anchor, leading the team with a 7-9 record and a 2.50 ERA. Her fellow pitchers, senior Erin Schuppert and freshman Lauren Hynes, still have yet to pick up more than one victory.
“We’ve been putting in some great pitching performances, but we need to play good defense, communicate and come through at the plate,” Gleason said.
The Terriers will finally play their first home game Wednesday afternoon against Connecticut (13-13). After winning their first game against Rutgers University Saturday, the Huskies dropped two to their conferences rivals as their offense failed to produce.
The Huskies’ pitching staff is led by senior Kiki Saveriano, whose stellar 1.71 ERA and 10-4 record are team highs. She has been the go-to pitcher for Connecticut all season, pitching 98.1 innings so far. The rest of the pitching has not been as dominant as Saveriano, picking up only three combined wins.
Senior Kim Silva has been the spark plug of the Huskies’ offense all season, leading her team with a .364 batting average and scoring the second most runs on the team with 12.
Silva also leads the Huskies with a .402 OBP and a .571 slugging percentage. Classmate Melissa Guches leads the team with 16 RBIs.
Thursday, the Terriers will remain at home to take on local foe Boston College (9-17) in the first matchup of the season between the two. The Eagles are coming off a three-game series against conference opponent University of Virginia, which they dropped 2-1.
“Just being back home and playing teams from the Northeast, or in our conference, there’s just a level of excitement,” Gleason said.
The Eagles’ offense has been led by outfielder Tory Speer, whose .390 batting average and 20 RBIs make her a standout offensive producer. She also leads BC with a massive .831 slugging percentage and a .520 OBP. Shutting Speer down will be the key to a Terrier victory Thursday.
Although she has recorded seven of the Eagles’ nine wins, pitcher Chelsie Dimon’s ERA is 5.79, a team best on a squad with a combined 6.37 ERA. In comparison, BC’s opposing pitchers have maintained a 3.88 ERA.
“We always talk about playing the game,” Gleason said. “So we’re going to play our game, whether it’s UConn, or BC, or Hartford [University] this weekend.”
For Gleason, the key to BU victories is communication and turning small offensive successes into runs.
“Being together, and working on the dirt with the sun and the wind, … really working on our communication, and that’s been a big part of what we’ve been talking about in the past couple weeks,” she said.
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