The Boston University softball team looked to bounce back after a tough loss against Boston College on Wednesday when they faced Patriot League foe United States Military Academy in a three-game series over the weekend in a rematch of last year’s Patriot League Championship.
The Terriers (14-21, 6-3 Patriot League) won all three games, as they swept the Cadets (27-15, 7-5 Patriot League) due in part to strong pitching and a hot offense.
“Army is a great team,” said BU head coach Ashley Waters. “We need to work better on our game and take every opponent one at a time and every game one at a time. We need to do what we need to do regardless of who we are playing.”
Freshman Kali Magane was dominant when she took the hill for the Terriers in the series. She pitched a complete game shutout in Saturday’s first game, which marked her seventh complete game this season. On Saturday, she allowed five hits and walked five while also striking out two, to bring her season record to 7-8 as her offense put up five runs.
On offense, senior shortstop Moriah Connolly got the offense rolling in the first inning when she scored the game’s first run with heads-up baserunning on a throwing error. Sophomore Alex Heinen also hit her team-leading eighth home run in the first inning.
The Terriers scored their final three runs in the fifth inning with senior infielder/outfielder Gabi Martinez, sophomore infielder Alexa Ponce and junior outfielder Emma Wong all contributing an RBI.
Senior Makinna Akers started the second game and also pitched a complete game shutout in an 8-0 win, following up on Magane’s strong performance. She allowed seven hits, but only walked one and struck out four. After a couple rough weeks, her record now stands at 6-7, and her ERA is down to a team-best 3.09.
On the other side of the ball, the momentum carried over from the previous game. Senior Rachel Levine hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, which was her first round-tripper of the season. Also driving in runs for the Terriers were Martinez and junior outfielder Jilee Schanda.
Magane took to the rubber in the final game, looking to end the series with a sweep and move her team up in the Patriot League standings. She gave her team a great jump, keeping Army’s offense at bay through four innings, allowing no earned runs and four hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Pitching the final frame was freshman Lizzie Annerino. In her inning of work, she struck out one and held the Cadets scoreless, setting up her offense for a chance to mercy rule an opponent for the second straight week.
“Our pitchers have worked really hard to put themselves in a better spot every week and every game,” Waters said. “When our offense is scoring runs and playing great defense, it gives our pitchers more confidence in their pitches. I think we had a great combo this weekend that really helped our pitchers.”
Offensively, the bats exploded for 11 runs, with nine of them being earned. BU was hot from the start, knocking out Army’s starting pitcher senior Kristen West after the just one inning. They managed five earned runs (seven runs in total) and four hits off her.
Heinen led the way with three hits and a total of four runs batted in, and junior Kaitlin Sahlinger had two RBI. Five different Terriers drove in the rest of the runs.
The Cadets scored their only run of the series in the second inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by catcher/infielder Maddie Kim.
The Terriers return to action Tuesday when they take on in-state rival University of Massachusetts Lowell at home.
“Every team we play from here on out is going to be a great team,” Waters said. “Everyone is trying to get themselves in a better spot. The more we play, the more reps we get is a good thing heading into conference play and ultimately our Patriot League Tournament.”
