A nail-biter it wasn’t. Nine runs in the first inning propelled the Boston University softball team to an assertive 12-0 shutout of the College of the Holy Cross in the first of two games Thursday afternoon. The story of the second was not much different, with the Terriers again providing most of the fireworks in a commanding 7-1 performance.
Senior Shayne Lotito continued her productive season at the plate, this time providing a three-run homer among four hits and six RBIs for the Terriers (29-13) over the two games against the Crusaders (9-27). Lotito also recorded two stolen bases to add to her already record-setting tally.
Fellow senior Christy Leath had a good day as well with three hits and three RBIs, including a two-run homer in the first game. Through both games, freshman Emily Roesch and sophomore Rachel Moeller also added tallies to the Terriers’ already full stat sheet. Roesch had four hits and two RBIs, and Moeller drove in two runs.’
Each starting Terrier pitcher was on top of her game yesterday. Redshirt junior Cassidi Hardy shut down Holy Cross’ offense for five complete innings in Game One, allowing just three hits and no walks in her ninth shutout and 15th win of the season.
The Crusaders managed to limp their way through seven innings in the second game despite a solid, five-hit, five-strikeout performance from junior Megan Currier. Together, the two let up just eight hits in 12 innings.
The whirlwind, two-game sweep of Holy Cross helped the Terriers bounce back from one of their only shutouts of the season Wednesday. BU was unable to score a run against the No. 17/21 University of Massachusetts-Amherst in a 3-0 loss.
Although content with his team’s performance yesterday, BU coach Shawn Rychcik was wary of expecting this same type of play against tough America East opponents in the Terriers’ next few games.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
‘We went in there wanting Holy Cross to respect us,’ Rychcik said. ‘We went in there and did what we needed to do and beat them pretty handily. Wins like that motivate you, but it’s hard to get it started again like that.’
The Terriers went through their batting order twice in the first inning of the Game One in their nine-run shellacking of opposing pitcher junior Mellissa Pivonka. The Crusader infield had opportunities to make it a quick inning, but things just did not go its way.
Lotito singled to shortstop to lead off the game and then stole second. An error sent senior Brooke Hudson to first and Lotito to third base. Senior Melissa Dubay brought Lotito home on a fly out. The Terriers tacked on two more runs before Leath recorded her two-run homer. Lotito returned to the batter’s box to send home two more runners on a double. Roesch’s single to left field drove in Lotito, the final run of the Terriers’ most offensively charged inning of the season.
The Terriers were not done, however. In the third, consecutive RBI doubles from Roesch and senior Nora Militz added two to BU’s score. Leath drove in one more on a single to cap off the Terriers’ scoring for the game.
It took BU a little bit longer to charge up their offense for the second game. Lotito opened the scoring with an RBI single in the third inning. That run was just a hint of what the Terriers were saving up for the fourth inning when they exploded for six runs on four hits, including Lotito’s three-run homer.
‘[Lotito’s] been having a good year,’ Rychcik said. ‘When you have pitching that’s not all there, your good hitters are going to get runs.’
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