Laughter.
That’s exactly what members of the Boston University softball team needed yesterday as they watched BU coach Amy Hayes screw up base running drills at practice.
Why laughter? After an emotional roller coaster of a tournament this Spring Break that saw the team defeat one of the top teams in the nation in No. 5 Stanford but lose to much weaker teams like Pennsylvania State University, laughter is something that can keep the team from dwelling on those disappointments and looking ahead to conference play.
“The team is pretty down right now,” Hayes said. “It’s frustrating going 3-2 down in Raleigh [at the Triangle Classic Tournament in North Carolina], and then to go down to Tampa and not keep the momentum.”
The biggest problem for the Terriers, Hayes said, is the hitting and run production. During their first 15 games, the women have averaged less than two runs and just over five hits per game. But Hayes believes the bats will come around as conference play starts up.
“We’re in a major hitting slump right now,” Hayes said. “But the girls look good in the [batting] cages and against live pitching, so hopefully the hitting will turn itself around.”
Hayes and the Terriers can thank their pitching staff for keeping them in every game. Even though their 8-7 record might not look all that impressive, the trio of senior Robyn King, sophomore Robyn Horrick and sophomore Tiffany Finateri have tallied a stingy 2.15 earned run average. The key has been the return of King, which has boosted the confidence of the entire team.
However, Hayes sees King as a double-edged sword.
“Everybody walks a little taller when Robyn takes the field,” Hayes said. “But the team needs to back up ‘Shakes’ [Horrick] and Tiff [Finateri] as well. They can’t depend on one player to carry the load.”
Hayes is especially looking for her middle infield duo of sophomore Kristin Knesek and senior Kerry Herr to step up and gel together. Hayes said if they communicate more and become leaders on the field, it will set the tone for the rest of the team.
Not all talk is negative in Terrier Nation.
Hayes praised the efforts of senior center fielder Kenya Palmer, who thus far has been the biggest offensive threat for BU.
Also earning high accolades from Hayes is freshman right fielder Abby Pauley.
Hayes has had high expectations of Pauley since the beginning of the season, and she has not let her coach down.
“Abby [Pauley] has been playing like a junior,” Hayes said. “It’s nothing more than an outstanding effort from her so far this season.”
The Terriers will look to put it all together Wednesday when they travel to Providence College for a doubleheader against the Friars. BU’s first home game of the season, scheduled this Saturday at Malvern Field against Boston College, has been cancelled due to continued renovations.
“We need to come back with two wins next week,” Hayes said. “We just can’t sit back and wait for things to happen. We need to come out hitting.”
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
