The Boston University softball team extended its dominant win streak with a 6-0 win over the University of Massachusetts Amherst Wednesday afternoon at the BU Softball Field.
The Terriers’ (27-13, 6-0 Patriot League) junior pitcher Lizzy Avery kept the Minutewomen (12-23) under control, allowing just one hit and zero runs.
BU got off to a strong start, scoring four runs in the first inning.
“I was excited about obviously jumping out and putting four runs up in the first inning. I think they helped us a little bit, a couple of mistakes, but we need to capitalize on that,” head coach Ashley Waters said.
The Terriers scored another run in the second, but then the team’s offense came to a standstill as the game progressed, with both teams coming and going for multiple innings without scoring.
Then, in the fifth inning, BU graduate student center fielder Jen Horita ran home on a double by senior second baseman AJ Huerta-Leipner, making the score 6-0.
“[UMass] is a good team. They play really good competition in the Atlantic 10. We knew it would be a grind,” Waters said. “I was impressed with how Avery played, and I thought our defense was fairly clean and we had a couple of stolen bases, which is great.”
Junior third baseman Caitlin Coker and Avery each had a day. The former’s control at the plate and the latter’s uncompromising performance on the mound was key to the Terriers’ success.
“Coker had a great day at the plate, and I thought that she set the tone really well. I gave Avery a lot of credit. I thought she battled,” Waters said. “I thought [the umpire] had a really tough strike zone. She kept pounding it and figuring out ways to get out.”
In the final inning, the Minutewomen attempted a comeback and were able to get a runner on base, but the Terriers held the line stubbornly and didn’t allow UMass to score a single run.
In the end, BU defeated the Minutewomen without any suspense and extended its win streak to 16 games. With the victory, the Terriers maintain first place in the Patriot League. BU is tied with Lehigh University, the other undefeated team in conference play.
BU is ranked at 48th in the overall rankings for Division I NCAA softball and is the only Patriot League team within the top 100.
“We have to do a better job of getting on top and hitting ground balls to create some things, but for us, I’ll take six runs any day against them, just because it’s a good team and honestly playing the full seven innings was actually helpful just to get some people in,” Waters said with a smile.
The Terriers will remain on their home field for a three-game series against the College of the Holy Cross this weekend.
