While most Boston University students were vacationing during the school’s spring break period, the Boston University softball team was busy playing in two tournaments, totaling 12 games in just 10 days.
The first day of break proved fruitless for the Terriers. In their first game of the Spring Break Classic hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University, the Terriers took on the University of Pittsburgh but lost 1-0. The starter for Pitt (22-5), Savannah King held BU to just five hits, one walk and five strikeouts in her complete game effort. Junior pitcher Lauren Hynes pitched equally well for the Terriers, completing all seven innings, striking out five and only allowing four hits. The only run scored was unearned and came in the fourth inning. Hynes was also the only Terrier to record more than one hit.
Later that day, the Terriers took on host Florida Gulf Coast (16-15). FGCU started early against freshman pitcher Sydni Overly. After Overly walked two batters, the Eagles were able to plate three in the first on a double, a passed ball and a groundout. They’d score one more off Overly in the fifth, then one off her replacement, sophomore pitcher Makinna Akers, in the sixth. The Terriers were able to score a run off the bat of freshman outfielder Emma Wong, but that would be it, as they dropped the second game of the double header 6-1.
BU’s next game was an extra innings loss to Long Island University Brooklyn. Tied at five, both teams plated runs in the ninth, but BU’s additional run in the tenth wasn’t up to par with the four runs that the Blackbirds (9-19) scored in the top of the frame. BU lost 10-7.
Following that was the first of a three-game set against Quinnipiac University. In the Terriers’ first and third games against the Bobcats (3-14), BU was able to take care of their opponents in just six innings of work, winning 11-2 and 13-2, respectively.
Senior left fielder Mandy Fernandez picked up five RBI in those two games. In the second against Quinnipiac, Bobcat pitcher Casey Herzog held the Terriers to just one run, an inside-the-park homer by Wong, and six hits. BU dropped that contest 2-1.
To round out the FGCU Spring Break Classic, the Terriers took on the University of Maine, winning 5-2. The Terriers continued production with the bats, including a home run from sophomore catcher Gabi Martinez and a two-out, two-RBI double from freshman shortstop Jilee Schanda, giving BU the decisive lead. The Black Bears (11-13) were limited to just two unearned runs.
After splitting games in the first tournament of the break, the team headed to Tampa, Florida for the Michele Smith Spring Break Tournament hosted by the University of South Florida. Day one featured the Terriers against Iowa State University and USF (24-8).
Against the Cyclones (16-9), BU was able to edge out a one-run victory with Wong, sophomore third baseman Brittany Younan and sophomore center fielder Moriah Connolly all going 2-for-2 and combining for all four runs in the 4-3 win. Against the Bulls, Hynes was able to keep it close, despite some pressure until the fifth. She let up seven runs, just six earned, and the Bulls won 8-0 in five innings.
On day two, the Terriers swept their double header with wins over LIU Brooklyn and Seton Hall University. BU was able to pay back the Blackbirds for the extra-inning loss they handed the Terriers a few days prior with a short-inning win. Schanda came up big again with three RBI on the way to an 11-3, six-inning game. Akers pitched 4.1 innings and allowed just three runs. In their game against the Pirates (10-15), a late inning surge, with Schanda again driving in multiple runs, led to a 4-2 Terrier victory.
On the final day of break, the Terriers faced the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The Mocs (17-7) got off to an early start, scoring three with the help of a two-run homerun from senior Nicole Osterman. Despite only being outhit 9-7, the Terriers were unable to score off pitcher Cori Jennings. The Mocs won 6-1.
Overall, BU coach Kathryn Gleason said she was happy with the way her team performed over the break.
“We really started to find our identity over break,” she said. “Being together for 10 days and 12 games — it’s just a matter of playing and just figuring out who we are. We made some changes in the lineup, and I’m not completely set with the lineup we have right now, but we’re starting to play off each other and use our speed, and [we’re] just trying to find those right combinations.”
Gleason said she is excited about the offensive capabilities her team has put together thus far.
“It’s great,” she said. “I think they know hitting is contagious, and you never know who’s going to step up, and so for different people to step up at different times and for it to come from different parts of the lineup … it’s encouraging.”
