The Boston University softball team wrapped up its abridged home season with a thrilling 2-1 walk-off victory over University of Massachusetts Lowell.
The Terriers (17-24, 7-8 Patriot League) had not scored since the first inning, but put things away quickly in the final frame with a leadoff walk by senior second baseman Emily Felbaum, followed by the game-winning double by freshman third baseman Kaitlin Sahlinger.
“It’s a great confidence booster, especially for Kaitlin,” said BU coach Kathryn Gleason. “She’s been in and out of the lineup all year, and sometimes injuries take over and people aren’t able to play, so she stepped in and did a great job.”
While Sahlinger has struggled throughout the season, the freshman has made strides recently, notching a .429 on-base percentage in BU’s three-game sweep of Colgate University earlier this week. Her progress continued in the victory over the River Hawks (17-30) on Wednesday.
“They threw me a pretty good one on the [second] pitch, and [coach] gave me the go-ahead, and I was pretty surprised, but it felt good,” said Sahlinger of her final at-bat. “Definitely felt good.”
BU got on the board in the bottom of the first inning after lead-off hitter sophomore center fielder Moriah Connolly forced an eight-pitch walk, stole second base and came in to score when sophomore catcher Gabi Martinez drove a double to the right-center field gap.
In the top of the third, the River Hawks evened things up when right fielder Brianna Martin came around to score from second on an RBI single from shortstop Alisha Welch.
Lowell would be stymied for the remainder of the game due to the pitching performance put in by sophomore right-hander Makinna Akers and junior Melanie Russell. Akers started the game and went five strong innings, giving up just one earned run on three hits while striking out four and walking none.
Russell came in in the sixth inning and continued to keep Lowell’s bats quiet, allowing just one baserunner over two innings before collecting the win after the walk-off hit.
“I thought Makinna did a great job holding the runners down,” Gleason said. “Mel came in and did a great job, even giving up that double. She came in and forced some pop ups, and I thought she did a great job coming in because we’re going to need everyone down the stretch.”
The two hurlers have formed a dynamic duo down the stretch and are largely responsible for the eight-game winning streak that the Terriers are currently riding. Over that stretch, Akers and Russell have pitched all 55 innings of play, combining for 37 strikeouts and giving up just three home runs.
Meanwhile, the lineup has supplied more than enough run support for the team’s superb pitching, averaging seven runs per game during the win streak thanks to a power tilt including 22 extra base hits.
Wednesday marked just the second time during their streak that the Terriers won by just one run, as the team has shown an effective mix of timely hitting and shutdown pitching that so many teams yearn for.
“I think they look at it more than I do,” Gleason said about the win streak. “I just look at it game to game, and are we improving and getting better every game. And I told them, ‘Sometimes it’s not always pretty. Sometimes you have to grind it out,’ and we did that.”
