The No. 2 Boston University Terriers softball team (39-19, 14-4 Patriot League) defeated the No. 1 Army West Point Black Knights (35-22, 16-2 PL) on May 11 to clinch its third consecutive and eighth overall Patriot League tournament championship.

In each of the two previous seasons, BU was the first seed. In 2023, the Terriers had a 17-1 record

in conference play, continuing their dominance of the PL by going 18-0 in conference matchups in 2024.

The Terriers’ in-conference winning streak was shattered late in the 2025 season. In April, BU dropped a series each against Army and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (28-24, 13-5 PL) — the opponents they would eventually face in this May’s PL tournament — losing the Terriers their rank.

The team felt they were competitive and close to victory despite crucial mistakes. 

After a bad throw from recent graduate Kasey Ricard, one of the team’s captains and ace pitcher, cost the Terriers the game, Army relished in their victory on BU’s Softball Field.

“We took note of that celebration,” said Head Coach Ashley Waters.

Waters and veteran players helped the young team get back on track under pressure after the setback. 

“It’s second nature for us to know how to do things at this point, but we take them under our wing and show them the way,” said Captain Sydney Pecoraro, a first baseman and recent graduate.

Waters always says “postseason is a brand new season,” said senior second baseman Brooke Deppiesse. 

“You can play looser and play more free,” Deppiesse said. “Mentoring them in that way was easier for them to stay present, stay in the moment.”

In the opening round game against Lehigh on May 8, Ricard led the Terriers in a close pitching duel.

The Terriers’ lone run came off a homer from junior outfielder Sophie Naivar, her first of the season. The game was suspended in the bottom of the fifth inning, pushing the final six outs to May 10 — where BU held out a 1-0 victory.

Ricard said she pitched her “best softball” that game, having struck out eight and allowing no runs in a complete seven-inning game. She recalled being worried at the suspension.

“I’m like, ‘This can’t be how we lose this game,’” she said. “Thankfully, we played good defense that day.”

Though the offense outside of Naivar went quiet against Lehigh, the first game of the final against Army later that day was an 8-0 blowout. Waters attributed this to a change in batting order: Deppiesse was moved to the leadoff spot and recorded four hits with three runs batted in.

Ricard called Deppiesse a “tone setter” in that game for always getting on base. 

“[Army] didn’t know how to pitch to her,” Ricard said. “It would fluster the whole defense.”

The next day, BU put away Army with a 3-2 comeback win. After Army got two runs off Ricard in the first inning, Waters handed the ball to sophomore pitcher Danika Nell, who pitched six scoreless innings.

“I wanted her to get that win for how hard she worked all season,” Ricard said, as Nell missed all of March due to injury. 

The Terriers got on base in six of seven innings, and Waters said it was a matter of “breaking through.”  

That breakthrough came in the fifth inning, when Deppiesse and junior outfielder Kylie Doherty hit RBI singles.

BU not being favored to win the tournament made the victory even more rewarding, Deppiesse said. 

“Being placed as a two-seed fueled our fire,” she said.

It was a sweet comeuppance for a rival that gave the Terriers a reason to seek vengeance. Ricard said the team got revenge when celebrating their conference victory at Army’s home stadium. 

“In the end, it was a lot sweeter to win on Army’s field versus winning on our field,” Ricard said. 

The Terriers faced adversity in the 2025 season with lots of “trials and tribulations,” Waters said, which made the title even more meaningful. 

“When you know what was happening behind the scenes, and then you’re standing in the middle of the field holding that trophy, you know that thing did not come easy, and it was actually earned,” said Waters. “No one handed it to you.”

The Terriers’ season ended in the 2025 NCAA Tournament’s Norman Regional in Oklahoma, when they lost to the Oklahoma Sooners and Omaha Mavericks. However, the 2025 Terriers will always have their PL title and threepeat.

Expectations remain high going into the 2026 season. 

“If we can win a game in the state that we were in that whole season, then we can do it three times over,” Pecoraro said. “They can win again next year because we were literally in shambles this year, and we still found a way to win.”