The Boston University softball team has been riding high on a number of streaks lately, but the squad took a detour yesterday for the first time since April 6.
BU saw its 12-game win streak come to an end at the BU Softball Field with a 1-0 loss to cross-town rival Boston College. The Terriers (21-17, 11-1 America East) were also holding onto a 15-game home winning streak before suffering defeat at the hands of the Eagles (25-14, 9-1 Big East).
‘We didn’t have any heroes today, and we didn’t have any big plays,’ said BU head coach Amy Hayes. ‘But we went out there and played a good game. It’s not a bad loss.’
The game proved to be a pitching duel between senior hurler Tiffany Finateri and BC pitcher Kim Ryan. Finateri (5-5) struck out one, walked none, allowed six hits and did not permit an earned run in the loss, while Ryan gave up four hits and rang up 15 strikeouts in a complete game performance to improve her record to 12-3. At one time, Ryan sat down seven straight batters, five via strikeout.
The Eagles’ only run came in the first inning when BC left fielder Erin Mackey doubled to left to bring home second baseman Jennifer Asbury, who had reached on an error, thus resulting in an unearned run. Finateri settled down the rest of the way to hold BC in check, but the right-hander’s costly throwing error in the first frame proved to be the deciding factor as it led to the game’s only score.
‘I don’t think [Finateri] thinks she had a good game, but she did,’ Hayes said. ‘She just made that one mistake, and when you’re playing a team that good, that could be costly.’
BU seemed to gain momentum in the sixth after sophomore center fielder Julie Henneke threw a runner out at the plate to save a run, but the Terriers stranded two on the base paths in the bottom half of the inning. They threatened again in the seventh with two runners on, but Ryan struck out freshman Liz Alley and induced a ground out by sophomore Jamie Haas to end the game.
The Terriers left seven runners on base, while the Eagles stranded five.
‘We didn’t hit until the fifth or sixth inning,’ Hayes said. ‘We didn’t make an adjustment quick enough.’
The Terriers’ struggles, though, showed up all over the box score. No player recorded multiple hits, and the team’s four hits were all singles, as BU couldn’t advance a runner past second base. Junior Abbey Pauley proved to be the only bright spot in the lineup. The left fielder went 1-2 with a walk and no strikeouts the only batter besides sophomore catcher Christy King to do so.
BC’s offensive attack was led by shortstop Cara Blumfield, who went 2-3 with a double, and leadoff hitter Jacqui Goodchild, who also tagged Finateri for two hits. Mackey had the lone RBI.
‘BC is a good team this year,’ Hayes said. ‘This is probably the best team they have put together in three or four years.’
BU returns to conference play this weekend, when they kick off a four-game series with Binghamton University on Saturday. The Bearcats are led by reigning America East Pitcher of the Week Michelle Weeks, who sports a miniscule 1.01 ERA and a 9-2 record. Two other pitchers also have an ERA under two runs.
Offensively, the Terriers will have to deal with catcher Jessica Chellis, who leads her team in home runs (2), RBIs (11) and stolen bases (6).
‘We just have to go to Binghamton and play like we are at home,’ Hayes said. ‘We have to go [there] and play like we are the top seed in the conference.’
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