Following a record-setting winter in the Northeast, a great deal of the Boston University softball team’s schedule has been postponed or canceled thus far, but in the games that have been played, some key contributors have stood out among the rest.
One of those influential pieces for the Terriers (6-16) is sophomore infielder Brittany Younan, who is second on the team with a .353 batting average and leads the team in a number of other offensive categories.
Younan is coming off an impressive freshman campaign in which she earned the distinction of Patriot League Rookie of the Year. In her first year out of Fossil Ridge High School in Chico, California, she started all 57 games and finished fifth in the conference with a .379 average at the place.
The contact hitter with a great ability on the basepaths also ranked near the top of the Patriot League in a number of other offensive categories. She paced the league in sacrifice bunts with 16, was second in runs scored (43) and tied for fifth in stolen bases. BU coach Kathryn Gleason said Younan has progressed nicely following her stellar freshman campaign.
“She’s becoming more comfortable as a three-tool player and leader on our team,” she said. “Brittany slid into a very experienced infield last year and did really well … this year, she’s definitely taken charge of our infield. She just wants to do anything she can to get on base and help the team.”
Her proficiency to steal bases has been evident this season as well. In a game against Quinnipiac University during spring break, Younan swiped two of a team total seven bags, which tied a school record. The Terriers routed their opponents by a score of 13-2 in that game, due in large part to the efforts of Younan.
Following the two spring break tournaments, during which the Terriers finished with a modest 6-6 record, Younan was named Patriot League Player of the Week. She posted a .619 batting average during the final spring break games, leading her Terriers to five victories over that span.
Freshman Wong makes strong first impression
Freshman outfielder Emma Wong has made quite the impact in her first season as a Terrier.
Wong, a 5-foot-5-inch outfielder, also from California, leads the squad in batting average on the season and is the only Terrier hitting at a .400 clip. Her .407 batting average is good for seventh in the conference among players with 25-plus at bats, and she also leads BU with a .519 slugging percentage.
“Emma is just a great kid and a great outfielder,” Gleason said of the freshman. “She came to us late in the recruiting process, and in Arizona — for her first tournament — she did pretty well, but then struggled a little bit in Texas. I think she really found her groove in Florida during spring break though.”
In addition, she is second in hits only to Younan, fittingly, and her .429 average with runners on base paces the team. One of her finest moments of the season came on March 13 in a 4-3 win against Iowa State University, where she tallied two hits and two RBI. Wong put her timely hitting skills on display in this one with an RBI single in the 5th that put the Terriers up for good.
Wong is no stranger to success on the softball field, having attained many accolades during her time at Torrey Pines High School. She was an All-State third team member during her senior year and won.
“She’s really taken after Younan,” she said. “I just tell her all the time, ‘put the ball in play and run’ because her speed is tremendous. When she does that, she can really make things happen.”
Felbaum taking over leadership role
Senior infielder Emily Felbaum has also made a name for herself this season.
The Grafton native has improved during each season in a Terrier uniform, and in 2015, she has risen to the occasion.
With more playing time came better results for Felbaum, as through the first 20 games of this season, she has doubled her career home run totals and is tied for the team lead with three. She batted only .217 in 31 games during her freshman year, .225 as a sophomore and .268 last year, but Gleason said Felbaum’s impact reaches beyond the field.
“Emily is obviously one of our leaders and a staple in the infield,” she said. “She’s very consistent in the way she approaches the game, and it calms the rest of the team down … she can lead this team because she knows what the league’s like, she knows the travel and she’s been great about leading on and off the field.”
Nick Neville is a junior in COM studying journalism and the Sports Editor of the Daily Free Press. When he's not making a paper on Beacon Street, you can catch him working as a Sports Correspondent for the Boston Globe or helping to produce BU's only professional sports talk show, Offsides. Follow him on Twitter: @n_nebs95
