Boston University softball swept Colgate University in a doubleheader Sunday. The Terriers won game one by a score of 6-1 and game two by 5-4 in an extra innings walk-off victory. The team has now won 16 straight games and extended its active 27-game home-win streak.
The Terriers (17-1, 6-0 Patriot League) and the Raiders (3-9, 1-5 PL) also faced off in a doubleheader Saturday, when BU again took both games.
Senior pitcher Ali DuBois tossed a gem for the Terriers in game one Sunday, notching seven strikeouts in seven innings. Her sole blemish was allowing a solo home run to sophomore outfielder Steph Jacoby in the second inning, which put Colgate up 1-0.
BU answered in the second half of the inning. Senior outfielder Jen Horita tapped a single down the first base line, then stole second. She scored on junior infielder Nicole Amodio’s opposite-field base hit, tying the game 1-1.
The Terriers added two runs in the third inning on a single by Horita, taking the lead to 3-1. BU had seven hits in three innings against Colgate sophomore pitcher Bailey Misken, who had allowed just five hits in 6.2 innings the previous day.
Head coach Ashley Waters said the team showed better plate discipline Sunday.
“It was a better day approach wise,” Waters said in a Sunday press conference. “When you’re facing the same people over and over again, you got to make adjustments, and I thought today we actually made adjustments.”
In the top of the fourth inning, DuBois gave up a walk to junior infielder Morgan Farrah with no outs. Sophomore outfielder Bailey Burns, who pinch-ran for Farrah, was thrown out when sophomore catcher Audrey Sellers fired a strike to second base.
Sellers followed her stellar play with a leadoff double against junior pitcher Kaitlyn Borruso, who entered the game in the fourth inning. Sellers scored on sophomore infielder Caitlin Coker’s third single of the game, putting the Terriers up 4-1. BU added two additional runs in the sixth inning, one on a solo home run that Sellers hammered to left field.
In game two, the Raiders again struck first. Graduate student catcher Virginia Irby wasted no time hitting a leadoff home run off sophomore pitcher Lizzy Avery, giving Colgate a 1-0 advantage. Junior pitcher Emily Gant then stepped into the circle for BU, and Avery did not get the chance to retire another batter.
Gant and Raiders senior pitcher Bella Crow dueled until the fourth inning when junior outfielder Aliyah Huerta-Leipner ripped a two-RBI triple with no outs to put the Terriers on the board. A sacrifice bunt from senior designated player Marina Sylvestri increased the Terriers’ lead to 3-1.
Two innings later, the Raiders took back the lead when Jacoby belted a three-run homer to left field to put Colgate up 4-3. Jacoby went 3-for-6 that day, with a double, two home runs and four RBIs.
The Terriers were down to their final out in the seventh inning when freshman outfielder Kayla Roncin came through with a pinch-hit home run to tie the game at 4-4. BU would eventually win on a bases-loaded single from Amodio in the eighth inning, but Roncin’s clutch hit was a thrilling moment for her teammates.
“I couldn’t have yelled louder,” DuBois said Sunday. “It was insane.”
Waters had praise for the freshman’s big moment.
“She’s been working out of a slump, but I’m telling you, that kid can absolutely crush the ball,” Waters said Sunday. “I thought she was the right person in that moment.”
After committing five errors the previous day, the Terriers played a clean defense in both games Sunday. Waters said this past weekend’s series against Colgate helped expose areas the team needs to work on, such as base running and continuing to improve on defense.
“This was probably a great series to see where our weaknesses really were and what we need to fine-tune,” Waters said Sunday.
DuBois entered game two in the seventh inning to hold the Raiders to four runs and earned another win, her second of the day and 12th of the season. DuBois said the Terriers’ defensive strides have helped her build confidence in facing the same lineup multiple times.
“For me to be able to just trust my defense and say, ‘Okay, I just have to throw a strike and the defense will take care of the rest,’” DuBois said. “That really calms me down.”
The Terriers will host Army West Point (4-5, 2-2 PL) at BU Softball Field for a pair of doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday. BU is undefeated in conference play this season, which DuBois said puts a target on the Terriers’ backs.
“The target’s still there, and it’s always going to be there,” DuBois said. “We have to show up every single day because anyone can take a game from us any time.”
