Terriers go .500 at St. John’s Invitational

By: Brian Lombardo

The Terriers played their first bit of softball in the northeast this weekend in Hempstead, New York.

Going into the weekend, the Terriers were slated to play four games; a doubleheader on Saturday and a doubleheader on Sunday. Out of the four games, the Terriers managed to win two.

Letting up runs in the first inning has been a weakness for BU manager Ashley Waters’ squad all year, and, ultimately, it led to two Terriers losses in Saturday’s doubleheader against Hofstra.

The Pride got off to a hot start against Terrier pitching, scoring all seven of their runs in the first two-innings of the game, including a first inning two-run home run and second inning three-run homer. Freshman Ali Dubois started the game and received the loss; she is now an even 4-4 on the season.

In game two, the Terriers squared off with the host of the tournament, St. John’s. Yet again, BU surrendered four runs in the first inning. Freshman Cali Dolfi started the game and gave up three home runs in the first frame. Terriers junior catcher Alex Heinen responded in the third inning with a three-run home run of her own, but it wasn’t enough to spark the team.

On Sunday the Terriers turned their luck, and brushed off the bad start that was costing them games. They started the day with an early matchup against a familiar foe, UMass Amherst.

Going into the fourth inning the team enjoyed a 3-1 lead, but then Amherst put together a string of hits and timely sacrifices to regain the lead 4-3. In the sixth inning, the Terriers strung along a series of hits themselves including another RBI for Heinen. Dolfi then came into the game in the fifth inning and shut the door, picking up the win in two and two-thirds innings of work.

The final game of the weekend saw a rarity take place – the Terriers won by way of the run-rule against Binghamton, 10-2. The early long ball gave the Terriers a 2-0 deficit to fight off, but a three-hit effort from Emma Wong and three RBI’s from the designated hitter, Alexa Ponce, provided the team with a large cushion by the fifth inning.

The Terriers are now 10-14 on the season as they begin to play games closer to home.

This week non-tournament/invitational games begin as BU will travel to Rhode Island to take on Bryant in a Wednesday doubleheader, and then will come back to Boston to host the Maine Black Bears this weekend.