The University at Albany softball team entered the America East Tournament as the two-time defending conference champions, and it showed it’s not going to be easy to get knocked off its perch. The fourth-seeded Great Danes upset No. 1 Boston University, 2-1, behind a gutsy performance from senior pitcher Casey Halloran at BU Softball Field on May 10.

Halloran, a second-team all-conference selection improved her record to 17-9 on the season and gave up one earned run and four hits over seven innings, while striking out eight Terriers. The Albany right-hander labored through many long Terrier at bats, mixing in a heavy dose of curveballs and changeups to keep the BU batters off balance.

“We were hoping that she would make mistakes, but she just didn’t make that many,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik. “I was really impressed with [Halloran], and I give her a lot of credit. She throws with heart, which is an intangible that nobody can see and that everybody underestimates.”

Despite Halloran’s solid work in the circle, BU missed out on a number of opportunities to put runs on the board, only managing to break through once. After an RBI single from freshman Michelle Connors off Megan Currier gave Albany a 1-0 lead, BU bounced right back in the bottom of third.

Following a Rachel Moeller pop-out, Brooke Hudson and Brandi Shields each singled up the middle on balls that ricocheted off Halloran. Next up, Shayne Lotito blasted a grounder at third baseman Kelly Ogden, whose off-target throw to first base allowed Lolito to slide in safely as Hudson cam around to score from second on heads-up base running. After Chiya Louie struck out, Christy Leath drew a walk to the load the bases with two outs for newly crowned America East Rookie of the Year, Rachel Hebert. After smashing a couple of foul balls, Hebert was caught looking on an off-speed pitch to end the inning.

The game didn’t stay knotted for long as UA’s Megan Butsch led off the top of the fourth inning with a home run to right field. Following the round-tripper, America East Pitcher of the Year Megan Currier settled down and did not allow another run. Despite Currier’s solid performance, her record dropped to 18-5. “Five hits and two runs given up is the usual for Megan,” Rychcik said. “It has won games for us 18 times this year, but it just didn’t work out today.”

In the bottom of the fifth, Halloran got the first two outs before Louie fouled off 10 Halloran curveballs, Louie fouled off 10 Halloran curve balls inside before drawing a walk. Leath followed with a solid at bat of her own, working the count from 0-2 to 3-2 and lofting a single into left field. This time around in a clutch situation Hebert was able to put the ball in play, but the Albany left fielder was perfectly positioned to snag her hard line drive down the line.

The Terriers threatened again in the bottom of the sixth, as Melissa Dubay and Nora Militz walked to open the inning. Halloran then retired Moeller and Hudson, but the dangerous Shields fouled off a couple of hanging breaking balls before hitting a fly ball deep to left field that was caught at the wall.

“I think everybody had opportunities across the board, and we just didn’t cash in,” Rychcik said. “I think we will be able to bounce back tomorrow, and [Albany] has to be hoping that [we] get knocked out before playing them again.”

Louie is certainly anxious to get another shot at Albany and Halloran and believes the Terriers have the pieces to rebound from their tough loss in the opening round.

“We have seen [Halloran] a couple times before, and she is a little different pitcher every time we see her,” Louie said. “She threw a lot of balls inside today, and if we face her again, we will be more patient and try and drive those balls the opposite way. Player for player, we are the most talented team in the conference, and we need to utilize that.”

BU is scheduled to return to action at 1:30 p.m. today against the third-seeded University of Hartford in an elimination game. If BU wins, it will play the loser of tomorrow’s game between Albany and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.