Riding a five-game win streak, the Boston University softball team will look to remain hot as it heads to the University of Maryland, College Park Saturday for a four-game tournament.
BU (9-11) will have a doubleheader on both days of the tournament, as it’ll take on Binghamton University and the University of Maryland on Saturday. Contests against Ball State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst await Sunday.
In BU’s most recent game, a 10-2 victory over Providence College, freshman catcher Alex Heinen turned some heads. The San Clemente, California native knocked in six RBIs while hitting sixth in the lineup.
It is possible Heinen may see a rise in the lineup. BU head coach Ashley Waters hinted that she may play around with the order in the upcoming tournament, but nothing has been officially determined yet.
The Bearcats (7-7), Terrapins (7-17), Cardinals (12-14) and Minutemen (5-13) will each present the Terriers with a distinct challenge. Although none of the teams have a winning record, the Terriers still have their work cut out.
The first game against Binghamton will provide stiff competition for the Terriers. Bearcat junior Crysti Eichner has turned in an excellent season so far, hitting .395 with two homers and 16 RBIs. Waters said there won’t be a special approach to Eichner, or anyone else for that matter.
“We don’t pay too much attention to exactly who is batting,” Waters said. “If we compete hard no matter who we are playing, we usually find our self in a good position. One through nine in most lineups has good talent — that’s just how the game works. We just approach everyone pretty much the same.”
In the last meeting on Feb. 26 between Maryland and BU, the Terrapins defeated the Terriers 3-2. After falling behind 3-0, BU fought back and pushed across two runs in the final inning, but the effort fell just short.
This time, the Terrapins will have home field advantage. While Waters acknowledged that it’s comforting to play on one’s home field, she said it shouldn’t determine any outcomes this weekend.
“The way I view it, same field, same game,” Waters said. “The way we’re going to go at it is that we need to beat them, and that it shouldn’t make a difference that they are on their home field.”
By the time BU takes on Ball State Sunday morning, Waters said her staff will already have gotten a good look at its opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
“It’s good to have these tournaments because you can see how they run their defense and their offense,” the first-year head coach said. “Hopefully we will be able to pick up some good information on them before we play them.”
After a five-game losing streak, Ball State has won two of its last three games. The Cardinals boast the powerful duo of junior Rachel Houck, who is hitting .413 with four homers on the year, and senior Emily Dabkowski, who has seven homers and 30 RBIs.
The last contest of the tournament for BU will be against the in-state rival Minutemen. Even though it is their last game of the tournament, Waters was adamant that the Terriers will approach this meeting with same intensity as each prior one.
“We approach every team the same, even though it’s a Massachusetts school,” Waters said. “We’ll go into the game with the same mentality as the others, which is to win the game. If our team competes the way we need to, usually we find ourselves in a good position to win these games.”
