Softball is back.
That must be the overarching feeling among Terrier fans as the Boston University softball team gets set to play Boston College in Chestnut Hill at 4 p.m. After all, BU is on a five-game winning streak after having completed a four-game sweep of their opponents at the home opener last weekend.
Going into the game against the Eagles (9-14), the Terriers (15-10) will look to extend their season’s longest winning streak to six and keep momentum going into their first America East Conference games against Stony Brook University this weekend. The competition will be stiffer than it has been recently.
During their current streak, the Terriers’ opponents have a combined record of 11-41, and Dartmouth College, who BU played in their last two games, has won only one of their 16 games this season.
Still, the reasons that softball is back at BU go beyond their recent excellent play against mediocre teams. The Terriers have gone 11-2 in their last 13 games after starting the season 4-8. They have rebounded from a slew of injuries and position changes that have forced players to relearn their approach, and they have done so marvelously.
“We ran into some injuries early, and it’s just taken some time to get adjusted. We got some people back healthy [recently],” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik. “I don’t think it’s a tale of two seasons. I think if we had been healthy we would have been playing great at the beginning of the season.”
BU has the AE’s most potent offense, hitting an unprecedented .310 as a team, and the Terriers boast the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player of the Week in junior outfielder April Setterlund, who is batting .597 for the season and went 11-for-11 over the weekend.
“[Setterlund]’s having a great year, and she’s a really good talent,” Rychcik said. “She’s really worked hard to maximize where she’s at. [She’s] on a good streak right now. I’m really happy for her. She expects to get a hit every time, and she’s being rewarded for her hard work and the time she puts into things. It’s pretty incredible to run into a run she has run into this weekend.”
Setterlund will get a chance to extend her streak against BC, whose record may not exactly speak to the team they are. Though the Eagles were swept in three games last weekend at the hands of Florida State University, they managed at least to keep pace with the Seminoles (31-6) behind freshman pitcher and infielder Nicole D’Argento, whose 2.10 ERA tops any pitcher on the Eagles’ or the Terriers’ staffs with more than two appearances.
“Hopefully we don’t read into [BC’s losing record] too much,” Rychcik said. “They are in the ACC, and they see good competition. We know what they can do, and they’re a decent team so we need to prepare ourselves accordingly. I don’t think [my] team takes games off, and I think we’re ready for them. We’re going to need to play well. I don’t think the record is even in play. It’s BC. They’re a good team. They play hard, and we’ll have to be at our best.”
BC is led at the plate by senior second baseman Renee Ramos. Her .373 BA leads the team, and she was the first Eagle to score on the Seminoles’ pristine pitching staff last weekend, hitting a solo home run in the second inning of their third game against Florida State on Sunday.
If the Terriers come away from the game victorious, they will bring a six-game winning streak into their first conference games against AE foe SBU (13-8, 3-0), who currently leads AE in conference wins. Losing the game would break that rhythm.
Rychcik said he was unsure that the outcome against BC will affect his team against SBU.
“Hopefully we win,” he said. “It probably won’t affect us on the weekend. Hopefully we’ll be ready for them this weekend. The conference is tough this year. Hopefully we play well up there [at BC] and then get ready for conference.”
Rychcik also explained what the BU-BC rivalry meant for the game.
“It’s hard to say,” he began. “We play so many games in softball. We like to say, “Hey, we beat BC twice,’ but I don’t think it gets us any higher to have beaten BC. For us, we look at it as another competitor, another opponent. You should prepare yourself one way and play that way the whole time. I want the kids to be up for all the games.”
One thing is for certain. BU softball is back, and with their conference schedule closer than ever, there’s no better time for it.
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