The Boston University softball team will look to avoid losing four straight contests on Tuesday when it travels to Allston to take on Harvard University.
The Terriers (8-23, 1-7 Patriot League) come into Tuesday’s game after being swept by the United States Military Academy in a three-game series this past weekend.
It has been a difficult season thus far for a developing BU team that finished the 2014 season with a Patriot League Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. Although her squad possesses a less-than-stellar record, BU coach Kathryn Gleason said the Terriers have shown signs of improvement.
“Our offense is finally starting to get into a rhythm with that consistent lineup, but we need to start the game off well, and that starts in the circle,” Gleason said. “We have to give our defense confidence … hopefully getting back in the dirt and actually having a practice on the dirt will help with that.”
The recent games against Army (18-19, 8-4 Patriot League) showed some of the Terriers’ deficiencies.
In the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, BU was able to hold Army to a mere six hits on the afternoon, but the Terriers could not get any timely hitting of their own and lost 4-0. Junior starting pitcher Melanie Russell pitched a complete game, but allowed a second-inning grand slam to third baseman Kasey McCravey.
Russell and junior pitcher Lauren Hynes both lead the Terrier pitching staff with three complete games on the season. Coming off an injury, her 8.44 ERA may high, but Gleason said she is impressed with her starter’s efforts.
“Just getting Mel back in there is huge,” she said. “She’s been dealing with some injuries, and I think just getting her on the mound is good because we can have two aces.”
BU later loaded the bases in the sixth inning, but could not cash in. Gleason said clearing the bases will be key for the Terriers when they face the Crimson (17-16) on Tuesday afternoon.
“We just need confidence at the plate,” Gleason said. “There’s no pressure whether someone’s on or you’re the leadoff hitter. I think we did a better job of looking for our pitch throughout the weekend, [sophomore catcher] Gabi Martinez especially.”
The second game of Saturday’s double-header was an offensive slugfest. Martinez tied a school record with seven RBI, but the Terriers fell 13-10.
In Sunday’s series finale, which was played at Boston College due to poor field conditions, the Terriers fell 6-3. Army scored three runs in the first and fifth innings, despite Russell retiring nine of 10 Army batters in between.
Moving forward, the Terriers will be searching for offensive consistency. They are fifth in the Patriot League in terms of offense, batting only .279 as a team this season.
Harvard, on the other hand, has had little trouble on offense as of late. The Crimson had a nine-game win streak snapped by Brown on Sunday. During the streak, Harvard’s offense averaged 8.88 runs per contest.
They are led on offense by senior Katherine Lantz, who paces the team in almost every offensive category. Her .375 average is third best on the team, and she is tied for team lead in home runs with fellow senior Emily Gusse with four home runs on the year.
The Crimson’s most recent loss came at the hands of Brown (10-15) in the second game of a Sunday doubleheader by a score of 4-2. Both teams displayed solid pitching through the game’s first four innings until the Bears scored three runs in the fifth to take control of the contest.
While Harvard does have five newcomers this season, the team has not lost a single member of its pitching staff from the 2014 season in which it finished with an impressive 28-15-1 record.
Gleason said the Terriers will need to improve on their past mistakes in order to avoid losing four straight games.
“Anytime you play somebody within a couple miles of campus, we’re familiar with them and they’re familiar with us,” Gleason said. “[Harvard] Coach [Jenny] Allard always presents a team that is great fundamentally, plays all seven innings. No matter what the records are, no matter where we are in the conference, I think it’s always a battle, but we’ll be ready.”
Nick Neville is a junior in COM studying journalism and the Sports Editor of the Daily Free Press. When he's not making a paper on Beacon Street, you can catch him working as a Sports Correspondent for the Boston Globe or helping to produce BU's only professional sports talk show, Offsides. Follow him on Twitter: @n_nebs95
