Softball: BU climbs back over .500 with doubleheader sweep

By Michael Wax

After a 25 game road trip, Boston University softball (14-13) finally began its 2022 home schedule with a sweep of Merrimack College (6-8), taking two games by a combined score of 20-2.

“It was exciting to be back on our field,” said BU head coach Ashley Waters. “It’s been great to have practices all week and obviously have a chance to kind of be on our own dirt, and we traditionally play well at home.”

BU sets a high standard for its home games, improving to 51-4 at home since the beginning of the 2018 season.

Junior pitchers Lizzy Avery and Allison Boaz accounted for all 11 innings of work on Tuesday. Avery allowed just two runs (one earned) in her four innings of work, while Boaz pitched seven hitless innings across two appearances — including the Terriers’ 26th no hitter in history during game two.

“The two of them have been bailing each other out and helping each other out for the entire preseason,” Waters said.

GAME 1: BU DEFEATS MERRIMACK 10-2

BU got started early, as sophomore shortstop Kayla Roncin hit the first pitch she saw between the second baseman and shortstop to drive in junior third baseman Caitlin Coker for the game’s first run.

BU would increase its lead in the second. An RBI double down the left field line by senior second baseman Bella Gargicevich-Almeida drove in senior center fielder AJ Huerta-Leipner to double the lead. Three batters later, a missed bunt and run by graduate outfielder Jen Horita led to an out at first, but heads-up baserunning by Gargicevich-Almeida made it a 3-0 game.

Boaz experienced her lone hiccup in the third inning. After the Warriors had first and second with one out, Boaz got the ground ball she needed to get out of the inning. However, the relay to senior first baseman Nicole Amodio was dropped, allowing Merrimack to get on the board.

BU plated two runs of its own in the bottom half of the fourth on a bobbled grounder by Merrimack, giving the Terriers a 5-1 lead heading into the fifth.

Boaz led off the fifth inning by loading the bases, prompting Waters to make a pitching change. Avery came in and limited damage but Merrimack plated a run off an error from Coker.

BU got that run back in the fifth, with Gargicevich-Almeida scoring freshman pinch runner Tyesha Williams on a sacrifice fly, before opening the game up in the sixth. Amodio drove in a run with a double, and then senior designated hitter Emily Gant drove in two more with a single and an error. Williams doubled home Gant to hit the mercy rule and give the Terriers game one of the doubleheader.

“Our goal is to pass the bat, the more times you pass the bat, the more times that one through four get up,” Waters said. “They understand what the goal is, and I was pretty impressed with just our ability to walk today.”

GAME 2: BU DEFEATS MERRIMACK 10-0

Avery picked up right where she started off in game two, striking out the side in the first and setting the tone for a big performance.

After a quiet first inning, the offense plated a run in the second when Amodio drove in Gant for the game’s first run. BU would then plate four in the third when Horita bunted home a run and a lack of awareness by the Warriors put two BU runners in scoring position. 

BU tacked on three more runs in the inning, as a bloop single from Roncin plated two and a line drive single from Amadio made it 5-0. BU wasn’t done, as the Terriers put up another five runs in the fourth. A smart baserunning play got BU a run, Gant singled home the seventh run of the afternoon, and Huerta-Leipner hit a bases-clearing double to create the double-digit advantage. 

With 18 runs in two games, Waters was pleased that adjustments made in practice translated to the games.

“All week, we worked on just getting to the front of the zone trying to kind of stay stacked in our backside,” said Waters. “A lot of things we did today was still making adjustments and still practicing to get ourselves to a better spot.”

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The Terriers host UMass Lowell for a doubleheader on Wednesday, with the first game scheduled for 2 pm.