After falling in the Patriot League Championship last spring, the Boston University softball team returned to Ashford Street for the Fall season. Here are the major storylines from the fall season.
Ricard adds to strong pitching staff
Freshman Kasey Ricard graduated from Littleton High School just a few months ago. Now, head coach Ashley Waters thinks she’s ready to contribute to the pitching staff, joining returning pitchers senior Allison Boaz and senior Lizzy Avery.
“We have returning, Boaz and Avery, so that was great,” Waters said. “We added on Kasey Ricard to the mix, who I think is going to be just a standout pitcher her next four years.”
Five additional freshman join the roster
In addition to Ricard, infielder Brooke Deppiesse, outfielder and utility player Aimee Metz, pitcher Juliana Scogna, pitcher and utility player Haley Ganino and pitcher Olivia DeLong all joined the Terriers.
Deppiesse likely earned a starting spot in the BU lineup at second base. Waters said she moved up in the lineup with key RBIs and big hits in the Fall season.
“She will probably start playing second base for the next four years. She’s just remarkable. She has great hands, she can move, incredible instincts for the game,” Waters said. “You’ll be seeing her name a lot in the next four years.”
Scogna is currently returning from an injury, and Waters is excited to see what she brings when she returns to 100% this Spring. However, it wasn’t all good news for the freshman class as DeLong suffered a potential season-ending injury during fall ball.
“She’ll probably be out for the year but obviously in the next coming years, (we’ll) see what she can do,” Waters said.
Waters also spoke highly of the class more broadly.
“This is a tough lineup to break into just based on the fact that a lot of the core players who were All-Conference players … they’re returning,” Waters said. “We just got better adding Brooke and Kasey into that mix, and then seeing what those other kids can do.”
Kelleher, Roncin, Coker and Gant anchor the Terrier lineup
The Terriers are returning a core of solid hitters this spring.
Junior infielder and 2022 Patriot League Player of the Year Kayla Roncin is gearing up for her third year at BU. In addition, graduate student catcher and infielder Nicole Amodio, senior infielder Caitlin Coker and graduate student outfielder Emily Gant — First-Team All-League honorees last season — returned.
Waters was impressed with junior outfielder Lauren Keleher.
“Kelleher really set the tone,” Waters said. “I actually put her in the leadoff spot. She was probably the toughest player to get out this fall, so I think she did a really great job.”
Waters put Roncin second in the lineup followed by Coker and Gant.
“The first four hitters are probably four of not only the best in the conference but can compete on a national stage,” Waters said. “There’s a really good chance that one of those kids is getting on (base). If we just keep passing the bat and getting through the lineup, we’re going to be a really tough team to beat.”
BU ranked No. 38 in national poll of softball programs
The program was recognized for its continued success. D1Softball ranked BU as the 38th-best softball program in the country.
“I just take a step back and take a second to think, ‘hey, Boston University, a school in the Northeast, is 38th in the country (and is) being looked at like that,” Waters said. “That national recognition is something I dreamed of.”
With a nationally competitive, non-conference schedule to open up the 2023 season, Waters and her team have a lot ahead of them to return to the top of the Patriot League. However, Waters is confident that the team moved closer to accomplishing those goals during the Fall season.
“The focus has been really great this fall about winning a championship and that’s primarily been every single day showing up, grinding it out,” she said. “I’m excited about where we are and what the fall actually looked like.”
