Softball: Terriers Finally Back at Home, Split Opening Doubleheader against Yale
By Bobby Serafin
On Tuesday, the Boston University Terriers (20-7) took one of two against the University of Yale (6-13) in their first action of the season at BU Softball Field. It took over five weeks for the Terriers to finally play at home, where they went an impressive 16-4 last season.
It was the first time since 1996 that BU faced Yale at home. The red and white took the opener 13-0 in a game that ended in five innings thanks to the mercy rule, but couldn’t complete the sweep, losing Game 2 by a final of 2-1 in a pitchers’ duel.
“We played some really good softball out West, and I think the transition back is always a little bit difficult for us to stay consistent,” BU Head Coach Ashley Waters said. “Coming into the day we were pretty excited to play.”
The Terriers capitalized on the adrenaline rush of returning home, scoring 12 runs in the first three innings against the Bulldogs. Yale sophomore pitchers Maddie Latta and Hannah Turner struggled in Game 1, combining for just four innings while allowing 15 batters to reach base. Turner, now 0-2, started the game and received the loss.
On the mound for BU was freshman Kasey Ricard, who continued her strong first-year campaign with her fourth shutout of the season, going a strong five innings to pair with four strikeouts. She leads the Terriers on the season with 73 punchouts in just 59.2 innings.
It took Ricard just 65 pitches to grab her seventh win of the season, allowing only four hits while also controlling the strike zone with zero walks.
For the BU hitters, everything was clicking. Juniors Kayla Roncin and Lauren Nett recorded three hits each, with the former contributing a team high four RBIs.
The Terriers leaned on a small-ball style, scoring 11 of their 13 runs off of singles, with seemingly every batter getting involved.
Waters credited the victory to “timely hitting, swinging at good pitches and being able to advance runners.”
The second game of the doubleheader was more of the same for the Terriers pitching staff, with senior Allison Boaz getting the nod.
The San Diego native, who started her last few games back in the Golden State, showed no rust, allowing two runs over seven innings of work. Boaz has now gone the full seven innings in her four of her last six starts. The loss leaves the senior with a 10-4 record on the year.
The lone blemish came in the third inning, where junior infielder Willa Ferrer singled home a pair of runs to give Yale a 2-0 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Senior pitcher Nicole Conway was stellar for the Bulldogs, matching Boaz’s seven innings but allowing five fewer hits. Conway relied on the fly ball, inducing 14 to make up for only collecting two strikeouts. The performance earned the senior her third win of the season.
“We didn’t adjust until too late in the game,” Waters said. “I thought some [players] really didn’t have good at bats the second game. We got to learn from our mistakes.”
Senior infielder Caitlin Coker drove in the Terriers lone run who singled home Roncin in the bottom of the sixth, sparking a partial rally for BU. Ultimately, the home team came up short and saw their four game win streak come to an end.
The Terriers have a short turn around, traveling to North Andover, Massachusetts for a doubleheader against the Merrimack College Warriors later today. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m., with senior pitcher Lizzy Avery likely to see some action.