Like many spring breakers, the Boston University softball team traveled south to Florida. But rather than lounging on the beach and sipping fluorescent drinks, the Terriers played in eight games over the course of two tournaments.
BU (8-10) started the week going 2-2 in the USF Spring Break Tournament in Tampa, Fla. last Tuesday and Wednesday. The Terriers finished the week with a strong performance in the Under Armour Classic in Clearwater, Fla., where they finished 3-1 in games from Friday to Sunday.
The Terriers began the week with a 6-5 loss to Ball State University (15-12) in 10 innings last Tuesday. The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-0 advantage, but BU carried the lead in the top of the fifth with a grand slam from junior leftfielder Shayne Lotito. Ball State answered with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at four.
The score remained tied until junior third baseman Brooke Hudson put the Terriers up by one in the top of the eighth, but the Cardinals kept pace with a one-out sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning. BU was held scoreless in the ninth and 10th, and Ball State pulled away with a one-out RBI single by Jen Moore in the bottom of the 10th off sophomore pitcher Megan Currier.
The Terriers bounced back from the tough loss with hard-fought 5-4 win over George Mason University (6-13) just a few hours later. BU again fell behind early, 2-0, but tied it in the top of the fourth with a two-run single by junior designated hitter Nora Militz.
With BU trailing 4-3 in the seventh, Lotito rose to the occasion with a go-ahead two-run homer. Currier held the lead, closing the door in the bottom of the seventh to save the win for freshman Kelley Engman.
Junior pitcher Cassidi Hardy continued her hot start last Wednesday, hurling her third complete-game shutout of the season as the Terriers knocked off Indiana University (5-16), 4-0. Hardy allowed four hits and two walks while striking out six. BU scored each of its runs in the top of the fourth, and four different players recorded an RBI.
BU finished last Wednesday’s slate with a 7-2 loss to the University of South Florida (19-9). The Bulls jumped to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, putting the game out of reach with three more in the top of the sixth. Currier allowed six runs (four earned) on 13 hits. Offensively, BU managed just three hits against freshman Capri Catalano.
“I don’t think we played anybody [in the USF Spring Break Tournament] that we couldn’t beat,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik. “We had a 4-2 lead against Ball State and couldn’t finish and we beat USF last year, so those were both winnable games. It was nice to see us get a bounce-back win against George Mason, and Indiana was a good win too.”
The Terriers then journeyed west of Tampa to Clearwater, where they kickstarted the Under Armour Classic with a 2-0 win over Liberty University on Friday. Engman picked up her first collegiate shutout, holding the Flames to three hits while striking out four.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when first baseman Rachel Hebert notched an RBI single. The sophomore added an insurance run with another RBI single in the sixth.
The Terriers won Saturday morning, downing the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (16-14), 6-4, in a game that started Friday but was delayed due to rain.
Hardy went the distance again to improve to 4-2 on the season. The Mocs scored three times in the first, but BU responded with six straight runs to take the lead. The comeback was fueled by an RBI double off the bat of freshman second baseman Melanie Delgado in the second.
Junior shortstop Melissa Dubay tied the game with an RBI double in the third, and Delgado gave the Terriers the lead with an RBI single in the sixth before freshman centerfielder April Setterlund drove her in with a double. Chattanooga pushed one run across in the bottom of the seventh.
Currier collected her first shutout of the season – and BU’s third of the week – Saturday afternoon, when the Terriers defeated Dartmouth College (1-5), 4-0. Hudson scored BU’s first run on a passed ball in the top of the second, and Setterlund added an RBI single later in the inning. The Big Green didn’t advance a runner past third base in the game.
“All of our pitchers are starting to come around,” Rychcik said. “Anytime a freshman throws a shutout, that’s great. Megan [Currier] started turning it around and getting back to last year’s form a few games ago, and it showed with the shutout against Dartmouth.”
BU ended the weekend with a disappointing 3-2 loss to Penn State University yesterday. The Terriers led 2-0 into the bottom of the seventh, but the Nittany Lions scored three runs in the final frame to snatch the victory.
“That was a game we had to win,” Rychcik said. “We need to be able to win games that are close at the end like that. We had them beat, but gave it up in the last inning. I’m happy with where we are right now, though. We got a lot better this week.”