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Finateri extends BU’s streak

It seems like any time a pitcher is at the plate, one of her teammates will yell for her to “help yourself up there.”

Boston University sophomore Tiffany Finateri did just that in the softball team’s 6-0 win yesterday against the College of the Holy Cross.

Finateri not only pitched a complete game three-hitter, she also hit a two-run home run in the second inning, representing all the runs she’d need.

Finateri struck out nine batters over seven innings and brought her record back to .500 (5-5).

“She did awesome,” said BU coach Amy Hayes. “She said to me, ‘I didn’t even feel like I was on today.’”

The thought of the Terriers’ third starter being any more “on” than she was yesterday no doubt leaves America East opponents wondering how they could hit Terrier pitching. With last week’s America East Pitcher of the Week in senior Robyn King, and last season’s America East Rookie of the Year in sophomore Robyn Horrick, BU may boast the best pitching rotation north of Atlanta, or at least in their conference.

And after a slow start to the game, BU’s bats came alive in the sixth inning, when the Terriers collected six hits, with four runners crossing home plate.

“That was when I told them, ‘We need to play this game like we’re playing [the University of Vermont],’” Hayes said. “It is good to see that when we need to get hits and score, we can.”

Finateri was one of the offensive stars as well, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three knocked in. The Terriers’ leading hitter, sophomore shortstop Kristin Knesek went 2-for-3, while leadoff hitter and senior second baseman Kerry Herr went 2-for-4 with one RBI.

“[Knesek] has been seeing the ball well,” Hayes said. “Kristin’s been the one hitter to really make adjustments at the plate. She’ll get out on her first trip to the plate, and she’ll make the changes she needs to get hits.

“[Kerry Herr] needs to go out there and be aggressive. We don’t want her thinking too much at the plate.”

While the 6-0 scoreline seems to indicate a blowout, that wasn’t the case. Finateri’s homer was the only scoring the Terries had until the sixth inning. In addition, there were a couple of mental miscues that Hayes was not pleased with.

“We had a couple of base-running mistakes,” Hayes said. “We didn’t seem to care if we won by two or by eight.”

But the story of the day was Finateri. While King and Horrick are the celebrated Terrier pitching duo, Finateri has come up big of late, and she is proving to be just what the Terriers need when the Robyns are resting.

Along with Finateri’s play, BU continued its solid field play. What was once one of the team’s major concerns has, in the past few games, become one of the Terriers’ strengths as they head into the heart of the conference season. Indeed, in the last three games, BU has only had two errors, showing improvement after some rough defensive performances.

Better fielding is supposed to yield better pitching, and with the Terriers’ recent mound dominance, this seems to be true.

Of course, it always helps when the opposing team can barely touch the pitcher.

“It always makes me feel good to see [Finateri] pitch well,” Hayes said. “She was striking some people out, and we were making the plays.”

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