For all the press the Terrier women’s lacrosse team received the past few years at this school, the women’s team with the most success this spring could end up surprising some people.
An injury-plagued season last year may have been the only thing separating the Boston University softball team from winning the America East Tournament and punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. With most of the key pieces sticking around this season, this team will certainly be a fun one to watch.
Sure, losing stars, such as Liz Alley and Josey Mendez, to graduation is never something that a team looks forward to dealing with, but look at the players this team has returned. Ace pitchers Brittany Detwiler and Cassidi Hardy will provide the team with a one-two punch that not many other teams in the league can stand up against.
Detwiler and senior outfielder Chiya Louie, both integral parts of the 2005 Terriers, suffered through injury-plagued 2006 seasons. Expect both to bounce back with stellar senior seasons on the field, and they two will be leaders off of it.
Although Detwiler’s injuries set the Terriers back, it allowed the team to find a hell of a pitcher to represent the 1-B to Detwiler’s 1-A. Or the other way around. You get my point. They’re both good. Hardy spent her freshman year putting up ridiculous numbers. Try an 18-12 record on for size and pair that up with her stellar 2.95 ERA.
The numbers don’t do her justice, either. When Detwiler went down with her injury early, Hardy took on a heavy workload. Real heavy. On a few occasions, she pitched the majority of doubleheaders, which is a stress on any pitcher’s arm. Thankfully, Hardy will have more help to carry the load this season. With freshman Megan Currier also in the mix, pitching should be a huge strength for the Terriers, barring injury.
In addition to pitching, fans also can look forward to a lineup that is solid from top to bottom. The team will certainly lose some of its pop after Alley and Mendez graduated (and also Tyler Benson’s season-ending rotator cuff injury), but their young, relentless lineup will continue to give fits to America East pitching staffs.
For a team that fell only one game short of advancing to the NCAA Tournament, things are looking good.
Most importantly, the team has played well so far on their Southern swing. You never know how a team will react to essentially having a bull’s eye on its back, so the start has been a good sign. The Terriers finished third out of 25 teams in the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic, and with the season still in its infancy, the Terriers are cleaning up awards like they’re going out of style. Probably the best sign of the season, so far, came when Detwiler hurled her first-career no-hitter to start the season.
So what could they use now? You. At the BU Softball Field. The players talking it up from the bench are the only ones making any noise, aside from their parents.
If you don’t think it is worth your time, pick a sunny day to head down the field. Bring a bag of sunflower seeds along with some sunscreen and catch the Terriers playing a weekend game. You are going to see a lot more excitement than you were expecting. You might even be witnessing a team about to embark on a pretty magical run into the NCAA tourney.
The team has a lot of games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, so give one game a shot. Besides, a larger fan base this season could prove to be an asset for this promising team’s aspirations.
Take this as a ticket to hop on the bandwagon now while it’s hot, folks.
Chris Lyons, a junior in the College of Communication, is a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. He can be reached at [email protected].