Softball: BU extends win streak to 12 games with 3-0 series against Bucknell
By Michael Wax
Boston University softball (23-13, 6-0 PL) extended its win streak to 12 games by sweeping Bucknell University (4-26, 1-5 PL), taking the three games by a combined score of 21-1.
“I’m really proud of the kids,” said BU head coach Ashley Waters. “They knew their job was to come in here and win three games this weekend, and they did just that.”
With the game one win, Waters became the second coach in BU softball history to enter the 200-win club. Waters joins Shawn Rychcik, who coached the Terriers from 2005 to 2012 and racked up 271 wins.
“I think I’ve coached some really incredible players, you look around and the wins don’t happen without them,” Waters said. “It’s really special. I love my job. I love what I do and I love the kids that I get to coach. I don’t count wins, I count championships. I’ll take a championship in the end.”
Junior pitchers Lizzy Avery and Allison Boaz accounted for all 21 innings of work. Avery tossed seven innings of one-run ball in game one, while Boaz put up 14 innings of scoreless ball across two outings.
“Every single weekend is going to be a toss-up,” Waters said. “I think that we have two number ones, and they’re two great pitchers. For us right now, we’re going to keep rolling the dice with whoever looks good that weekend, they’re probably going to get the two games and they both know that at any point someone can come in behind them to help each other out. So I do think it’s a really great tandem and two really different pitchers who offset each other well.”
Game 1: BU defeats Bucknell 7-1
BU had an opportunity to start the game in front but failed to capitalize on a leadoff triple from junior third baseman Caitlin Coker.
“I thought we were a little bit slow to start,” Waters said. “When you lead up a game with the triple, the expectation is that that run should advance. So I think for me, I was a little bit disappointed with the first inning and just the lack of productivity.”
BU and Bucknell traded scoreless innings, with Avery and Bucknell pitcher Olivia Marinelli never having a clean inning but keeping runners off the scoreboard.
BU took advantage in the fourth, starting with a double from senior left fielder Emily Gant. From there, sloppy Bucknell defense on back-to-back plays gave BU a 1-0 lead and put two runners on for senior center fielder Aliyah Huerta-Leipner. Huerta-Leipner tripled into the right-field gap and scored senior first baseman Nicole Amodio and sophomore right fielder Lauren Keleher. Junior catcher Audrey Sellers drove in Keleher to make it 4-0 BU and necessitated a pitching change for Bucknell.
In the fifth, Keleher tripled into the left-center field gap, and Amodio drove her in with a single up the middle to make it 5-0.
Bucknell got its lone run of the game in the sixth when sophomore catcher Zoie Smith hit a 3-2 pitch over the centerfield fence. Despite Avery sacrificing only one run, Waters wanted to see more out of her starting pitcher.
“I think she’s gonna have better outcomes but I thought she did a good job grinding,” Waters said. “She did enough to get by today. It wasn’t her best stuff, but it was good enough.”
BU tacked on two more runs in the sixth, with graduate center fielder Jen Horita driving home Coker and freshman designated player Tyesha Williams with a double. This was Williams’ sixth start of the season, and coach Waters liked what she saw from the freshman.
“I think she’s a really quiet competitor and she’s actually stepped up in some bigger moments,” Waters said. “I think today she didn’t have all the outcomes she wanted. But I do think that she had a couple of really good pieces. I’ve been happy with how she swings the bat.”
Waters was also impressed with BU’s three triples, which tied a Terrier record for the most triples in a single game.
“We really focused on what their pitchers could throw and what they could do, and we tried to execute that and emulate that in practice,” Waters said. “Anytime that we have triples, it’s going to be a great thing because you’re standing on third base, we have a better opportunity score.”
Game 2: BU defeats Bucknell 7-0
Boaz shut down the Bison lineup in all seven innings, only allowing two singles, which were both tapped in by senior third baseman Nicole Rivait.
“She was productive,” Waters said. “I love when there’s one-pitch outs, two-pitch outs. That just puts us back on offense a lot quicker. I thought [Ally] looked exceptional today.”
After game one’s quiet start, game two saw BU get on the board in the first. Keleher singled, moved to third on a double from sophomore shortstop Kayla Roncin, and scored on a wild pitch.
BU had another big inning in the third, starting with a triple from Coker and a walk from Keleher. Gant drove in Coker with an RBI single, and Bucknell put together a perfect relay to get Keleher at the plate. Gant moved to third and then scored on an RBI single from Horita.
Huerta-Leipner delivered a big hit for BU in the second consecutive game, driving in both Amodio and Horita with a two-run single. BU tacked on two more runs in the sixth, with Roncin hitting a two-run home run over the fence in center.
Game 3: BU defeats Bucknell 7-0
BU took early advantage of a sloppy start from Bucknell pitching. Coker was hit by the second pitch of the game, Keleher drew a four-pitch walk, and Roncin reached on an error to load the bases. Coker then scored on a wild pitch, giving BU an early lead.
BU had a big second inning, busting the game open with five runs. Coker scored Huerta-Leipner on an RBI double, and BU got a third run on a single to right field from Keleher. Keleher came all the way around to score off a triple into center field by Roncin, the Terriers’ fifth triple of the series.
After a pitching change from Bucknell, Horita followed with a two-run single, scoring Roncin and Gant to blow the game open. BU added another run in the fourth, as Keleher drove in Coker with an RBI double.
Though BU came away with a win, the Terriers’ failure to further capitalize on scoring opportunities was a sticking point for Waters.
“We should be really tough to get out one through nine and I felt like we gave them some easy outs at different points where it could have been crucial for us to separate ourselves,” Waters said. “We had opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on and we got to get better at that this week.”
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The Terriers head to Harvard for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 5. The first game is scheduled for 2 pm.