Boston University softball coach Shawn Rychcik has said it all season, and with this weekend’s sweep of the formerly first-place University at Albany, BU may have proven it: the Terriers are the best team in the America East Conference.
Even with statistically superior offense and pitching, the Terriers (30-14, 12-3 AE) entered the weekend in second place, needing three wins to give themselves a shot at the AE regular-season championship. Luckily for BU, those statistics held up, and all aspects of their game – offense, defense and pitching – came through for 7-2 and 6-4 wins on Saturday, and a 7-0 win on Sunday. With the wins, BU took a one-game lead over Albany (20-21, 11-4 AE) going into the final weekend of conference play.
“Outstanding effort from a lot of people over the weekend,” Rychcik said. “We needed to win three to have a shot at winning [the conference]. Now we’re in first place and we’re really controlling everything going into next weekend.”
The Terriers asserted their dominance early in the first game when they jumped out to a quick three-run lead. Redshirt freshman right fielder Jayme Mask started off the first inning with a walk and advanced on a single from senior center fielder April Setterlund.
One batter later, redshirt freshman first baseman Chelsea Kehr launched a line drive home run that ricocheted off the left field foul pole to put BU up 3-0. The ball got out in a hurry, almost as quickly as it took the wind out of Albany, which entered the contest the winner of 10 straight.
“[Albany’s players] were pretty fired up over on their side too and I think it knocked down a little of their momentum,” Rychcik said. “It kind of took away their energy.”
Albany closed the gap to 3-2 in the top of the second with three straight singles off of freshman pitcher Holli Floetker, but once she induced a groundout to second base to end the threat, Floetker settled down for the rest of the game. She finished with just the two runs, one earned, and six hits in the six-strikeout complete game effort.
The score remained 3-2 until the fifth when another underclassman – freshman catcher Amy Ekart – gave the team some much-needed insurance runs. Ekart blasted a long grand slam that cleared the trees in left field to put BU up 7-2. The ball was a no-doubter, as Ekart herself gave a small fist pump right after the hit.
Game two on Saturday literally produced more of the same. After BU tied the game 1-1 in the fifth, the Terriers put up a five-spot in the sixth, with the heroics again coming from Ekart: the catcher hit another grand slam, giving her four hits and eight RBIs on the day.
“Great day for her,” Rychcik said. “Good at bats in big situations for us, and obviously those runs were needed. She’s produced in the past and I think it’s just continuing to see pitching and getting confidence.”
Erin Schuppert especially appreciated the extra runs from her catcher, as the sophomore pitcher let up three runs in the top of the seventh before getting a pop-up to end it. She finished with a line of four earned runs and five hits in seven innings.
Rychcik said the long last inning may have been a result of a momentary lapse in Schuppert’s ability to focus, though it was the only big blemish on an overall very productive day on the mound for the Terriers.
“I think that was just a product of a little loss of concentration at 6-1,” Rychcik said. “Hopefully Erin realizes even though we have more [runs] and we get the first out we’ve got to bear down a little more and can’t let that happen.”
As dominant as BU was on Saturday, it was even more so on Sunday when it finished the sweep and took sole possession of first place. Freshman third baseman Megan Volpano got the ball rolling early for the Terriers with a two-run home run to left, and sophomore Whitney Tuthill outdid her Saturday counterparts by giving up just three hits and two walks in seven innings.
“I’m glad to see Whit really get a big game and finish it off for herself and not struggle through it at the end,” Rychcik said. “She finished it off in real good fashion so I’m real happy with her performances. We needed it too.”
The team also benefited from strong defensive play, committing just one error in three games. Freshman shortstop Brittany Clendenny and Volpano in particular have made their fair share of errors this season, but held down the left side of the infield on multiple occasions this weekend.
“They haven’t shied away from their weaknesses and they went out and worked at them and they’re no longer weaknesses,” Rychcik said. “They’re still going to make errors this year. It’s the way the game’s designed. But they made some big plays today and that’s what we needed.”
The final win was especially impressive for a BU team that was without starting junior left fielder Erica Casacci, who is day-to-day after colliding with Setterlund in left center during game two on Saturday. This may have been balanced out by the extra emotions from senior day festivities, including a pregame ceremony honoring the team’s four seniors – Setterlund, senior pitcher Kelley Engman, designated hitter Caitlin Rentler and outfielder Christina Valdes.
Setterlund’s weekend was memorable not only for the sweep or her final series at the BU Softball Field, but also for another milestone – with her 5-for-6 day on Saturday, she became BU’s all-time hits leader with 251 in her career.
“At moments, every one of them has been a huge part of this program, and is responsible for a lot of good things, a lot of wins,” Rychcik said of his soon-to-be-departed seniors. “It’s a tough day for me to see but I’m proud of them. They’ve represented their families, themselves, their university and this program very well.”
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Thanks, Tim, for an academic year of fun reads! I am now left “on the horns of a dilemma” ….. what to read over the summer until you return in September !!!