Softball: BU sweeps Colgate, extends streak to 23 wins

By Michael Wax

Boston University softball (30-13, 9-0 PL) swept yet another weekend series, defeating Colgate (17-20, 7-5 PL) by a combined score of 36-11 on Saturday and Sunday. 

Junior pitchers Lizzy Avery and Allison Boaz accounted for all 19 innings of work. Avery tossed 11 2/3  innings while giving up five runs over two outings. Boaz put up 7 1/3  innings of work, giving up six runs over two outings.  

GAME 1: BU DEFEATS COLGATE 9-1

Much like BU’s previous weekend series against Holy Cross, game 1 saw zero runs early in a duel between Terriers starter Avery and Colgate starter Bailey Misken. BU threatened early, with junior third baseman Caitlin Coker getting all the way to third base before being thrown out at home on a squeeze bunt attempt from graduate center fielder Jen Horita. BU loaded the bases in each of the first three innings but was unable to capitalize on its opportunities. 

The fourth inning saw Colgate strike first. First baseman Kara Fusco got the Raiders their first hit of the afternoon with a double, setting up runners on second and third with only one out. Designated player Adrienne Nardone then drove in Colgate’s run with a sacrifice fly. The 1-0 deficit for BU was the first deficit of any kind the Terriers had faced since their April 5 game against Harvard, a game where they also trailed 1-0.

BU’s bats woke up in the fifth inning. Junior catcher Audrey Sellers tied the game with a RBI single, the Terriers’ first hit of the day with runners in scoring position. Coker followed the tying hit up with a go-ahead, two-run double to give BU a lead it would not relinquish. 

BU once again loaded the bases in the sixth thanks to a pair of Colgate fielding errors and a walk, bringing the bottom of the order to the plate with no outs. After two at-bats that failed to generate any runs, Sellers was walked to make it a 4-1 BU lead. Coker was then hit by a pitch, expanding the lead even further and giving BU a multi-run inning in which they didn’t have a hit. 

BU began to break the game open in the seventh. Sophomore right fielder Lauren Keleher’s second hit of the game was an RBI triple that scored sophomore shortstop Kayla Roncin. Senior left fielder Emily Gant drove in Keleher with an RBI single, which was followed by a two-run home run by senior first baseman Nicole Amodio. Amodio extended her team-lead in home runs with her eighth home run of the season, giving BU a 9-1 advantage.

Avery shut the door in the seventh, completing a well-rounded game with six multi-hit performances (Coker, Horita, Keleher, Gant, Amodio, Sellers) and a complete game by Avery.

GAME 2: BU DEFEATS COLGATE 16-3

BU got off to a strong start in game two, loading the bases with no outs through a mixture of hit by pitches and a fielding error by Colgate. Gant lined a 2-1 pitch over the wall for her third home run of the year.

Colgate responded in the second, as right fielder Steph Jacoby hit a pitch from Boaz over the wall to cut the lead in half. BU needed a double play to get out of a jam later in the inning as well.

BU once again got the bases loaded in the second through a walk, a single, and an error. Roncin hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Sellers to increase the lead. Gant continued her big game with a two-run single to stretch the lead to 7-2. After BU loaded the bases again, graduate designated player Marina Sylvestri was hit by a pitch to score Gant and increase the lead to 8-2.

After Colgate got another run from a single by center fielder Rebecca Johnson, Gant got another hit, and RBI with a single down the right-field line. With her RBI single, Gant tied the BU softball record for most RBIs in a single game. Horita doubled home Gant to extend the lead to 10-3. 

Keleher’s RBI double made the game 11-3 in the fifth, and then the Terriers put up a five-spot in the fifth. Amodio scored Horita on an RBI single to make it 12-3. With the bases loaded and two out, Coker hammered a 2-0 pitch over the center-field fence to give BU another grand slam and a 16-3 lead. This was Coker’s fourth home run of the season. Boaz shut the door in the fifth to give BU a 16-3 mercy rule win.

BU’s 16 runs in game 2 were the most runs the Terriers have scored in a game this season, topping their previous high of 15 runs against Akron on February 25. 

GAME 3: BU DEFEATS COLGATE 13-7

Both BU and Colgate had slow starts in game 3, as neither team could muster up a run in the first inning. BU got runners to second and third, and scored the game’s first run on a groundout from Amodio. Senior second baseman Bella Gargicevich-Almeida scored Sylvestri with an RBI single to center to give BU a 2-0 lead after two.

BU continued scoring runs in the third. Horita drove in Roncin with an RBI single. Gant then scored on an RBI groundout from Sylvestri. Amodio added on to the lead with an RBI single to make it 5-0. In the fourth, Roncin added another run with a sacrifice fly.

Colgate got on the board in the fourth inning, when third baseman Morgan Farrah lined a pitch over the wall to score two runs and bring it within a 6-2 game. After BU got a run back off a Sylvestri double in the top of the fifth, Colgate added three in the fifth inning. The first came on an RBI grounder, which sent Avery to the dugout and led head coach Ashley Waters to replace her with Boaz. Raiders first baseman Kara Fusco got Colgate within three on an RBI single, and Farrah got Colgate within two with an RBI single.

The sixth inning saw BU’s bats come alive once again, as Roncin drove in two more runs with a single. Sylvestri followed that up with a two-run single of her own to get BU’s lead back to six runs. Colgate responded with two of its own in the bottom half of the inning, the first coming off a grounder to second and the second coming off a Boaz wild pitch.

The Terriers padded their lead in the top of the seventh with a two-run homer from Gant, her second home run in as many games. Boaz worked a clean bottom of the seventh, and BU got its 23rd win in a row.

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The Terriers will begin a three-game series against Army West Point on Saturday, April 30. The first game starts at 12 p.m.