While the sun was shining in the sky yesterday, the Boston University softball team was shining on the field.
The Terriers (27-17, 15-1 America East) extended their current winning streak to six games with a doubleheader sweep of the University of Rhode Island, taking the first game 5-0 before winning the second 7-1 at the BU Softball Field. The two victories also mark the third-straight time that BU has won a two-game series at home.
‘I think after today we should feel pretty good about ourselves,’ said BU coach Amy Hayes. ‘We played with confidence; we didn’t play like we were struggling, and you had a feeling in the dugout that we were going to win.’
Once again, the Terrier pitching staff proved dominant with performances from sophomore hurler Julie Henneke and freshman Erin McDonald.
Henneke (11-5) went the distance in game one, striking out 14 on her way to a three-hit shutout, while McDonald (11-6) gobbled up seven innings in her complete-game performance, giving up one run on four hits and one walk. The right-hander also fanned six batters in her 11th consecutive win.
‘I think they [Henneke and McDonald] have found their niche,’ Hayes said. ‘They’re feeling good about themselves; they know they’re throwing well right now.’
In game one, both the Terriers and the Rams (17-22, 6-8 Atlantic 10) were deadlocked in a scoreless tie before the Terriers broke it open with a three-run third inning. Three straight singles from sophomore Jamie Haas, junior Abbey Pauley and Henneke loaded the bases before a passed ball brought Haas in from third.
Freshman first baseman Liz Alley then smacked a double off the centerfield wall to clear the bases and bring two more runs across the plate. BU loaded the bases again later in the inning, but Rhode Island pitcher Jenna Thurston closed the door with three strikeouts before the Terriers, who stranded nine in the game, could muster another score.
Still, Hayes felt that the presence of Alley, who went 1-2 with two RBIs and two walks in the game, made a big difference in the batting order. The 6-1 southpaw had missed a good portion of the season due to injury before returning last weekend.
‘She did a great job out there,’ she said. ‘We’re really happy to have her back. It makes our hitting lineup a lot stronger.’
The home team struck again in the fourth and sixth frames with RBI singles from McDonald and Pauley, respectively, to cap the scoring. Thurston finished the game with 10 strikeouts, but she allowed five earned runs, eight hits and six walks.
The Rams jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in game two with a single and an RBI triple, but their early lead wouldn’t last as the Terriers pulled ahead after a score on the strength of two RBI singles from Henneke and McDonald.
BU wasn’t done, though. In the fifth, McDonald stepped to the plate again to rope a two-run double to left. Then, in the sixth inning, a Rhode Island error led to two more runs before Pauley came in for the team’s last score on a passed ball.
Offensively, BU was led by the heart of the order all day. McDonald went 4-6 at the dish, tallying four RBIs on the day while Henneke contributed with three runs and an RBI of her own as she went 3-7 in the batter’s box. Pauley, however, provided the biggest spark, going 4-6 with five runs, three RBIs, and two walks.
‘She [Pauley] just has been steadily getting better,’ Hayes said. ‘This is really her first full year of not having an injury and not being bothered by anything, and I think it’s really letting her kind of blossom a little bit.’
Even though the Terriers continued their success in the circle and at the plate against Rhode Island, they also stepped up their defense, something that has been lacking the past few days.
They didn’t commit an error in either game, a far cry from their four games against Binghamton University on Sunday and Monday where they had eight miscues.
‘Our defense was great today,’ Hayes said. ‘We really played well behind Erin McDonald because they [the Rams] switched their lineup a little bit and put the ball into play that second game.’
BU goes back on the road tomorrow as they get ready to play a single non-conference game with the University of Massachusetts in Amherst at 5 p.m.
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