Softball: Ricard Nearly Unhittable as the Terriers Sweep Holy Cross
By Bobby Serafin
Following a Saturday rain postponement, Boston University Softball (26-7, 3-0 PL) swept their three-game set against the Holy Cross Crusaders (7-22, 0-6 PL) by a combined score of 26-1. With the wins, BU retakes the lead in the all-time Turnpike Trophy, now boasting an 10-8 advantage over Holy Cross.
If freshman pitcher Kasey Ricard wasn’t in the conversation for Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, she surely is now. The first-year pitched a whopping 14.1 innings over the three games this weekend and only gave up one hit and three walks while punching out 29 Crusaders in the process.
Ricard came on in relief of senior Allison Boaz, who picked up her 12th win of the season in the opener on Saturday, and then started and finished the other two games against Holy Cross. The dazzling Ricard sent her win total into double-digits after the impressive weekend.
The Terrier offense was not to be overshadowed, averaging nearly nine runs a game despite just one of the contests requiring the full seven innings. It was a balanced attack for the Terriers, with only two players– graduate designated hitter Emily Gant and junior center fielder Lauren Keleher– recording three hits in a single game.
BU head coach Ashley Waters had previously expressed the need for consistency and continuing to swing at good pitches despite the opponent. Safe to say that the Terriers did that in this series.
Game One: Boston University 11, Holy Cross 1 (Five Innings)
The Terriers came ready to play this weekend, putting two on the board right away. Following a leadoff Keleher walk, junior shortstop Kayla Roncin singled through two fielders. The Terriers were able to take advantage of two Holy Cross errors on the same play, which resulted in Roncin coming all the way home.
BU wasn’t done in the first, as freshman infielder Brooke Deppiesse singled to left to bring around senior infielder Caitlin Coker to make it 3-0 in favor of the away team.
Deppiesse has been clutch all season – she’s tied for second on the team with 24 RBI’s – and she continued that in the fourth inning with a bases clearing triple.
By the time Allison Boaz, who started the opener, stepped off the mound in the bottom of the fourth with two outs, the game was already 7-1.
Boaz was far from perfect in this one– giving up six hits and a walk in 3.2 innings of work– but she induced a couple inning ending double plays and got out of every jam thrown her way. The lone run allowed came in her final inning as senior two way player Peyton Morehouse singled off the senior to get Holy Cross on the board.
That would be it for the Crusader offense, as the aforementioned Ricard stepped in and got the final four outs for the Terriers.
BU wanted to end this one early, and following a triple from junior infielder Kate Pryor that scored a run, the Terriers smelled blood in the top of the fifth.
Morehouse, who stepped in for junior pitcher Megan Yurchick, got torched for four runs in just 0.2 innings that allowed BU to push the score to 11-1. According to NCAA rules, once the fifth inning concluded with the ten run BU lead in tact, the game was concluded via mercy rule.
Game Two: Boston University 6, Holy Cross 0
In terms of pitching, it was the normal potency for BU and then some. This was Ricard’s finest outing of the series in terms of deception, as she racked up 17 strikeouts out of the 23 batters she faced. The Littleton, Mass. native leads the Patriot League in shutouts with 6.
It also took the freshman less than 100 pitches to get through the seven innings. The high riser, which has been Ricard’s bread and butter, was working impressively once again.
When the Crusaders did make contact with her sizzling stuff, it was weak, resulting in just one hit for Holy Cross. She also struck outside the side in the second, third, and sixth innings.
The run support wasn’t there immediately for Ricard, as the Terriers struggled to get runs on the board against HC freshman pitcher Sophia Roncone through the first four innings. A Roncin sacrifice fly that scored grad infielder Nicole Amodio was all that BU had to show for its first four frames.
That all changed in the fifth as the Terriers chased Roncone from the game. Pryor started the inning with a leadoff triple. BU’s run was nearly sniffed out early as the next two batters were retired.
From there, Keleher was hit by a pitch, then she proceeded to steal second. With two runners in scoring position, Roncin singled home the pair and thanks to Keleher’s impressive baserunning, the Terriers led 3-0.
Up next was Coker, whose experience has taught her how to hit in big spots. The senior laced a double to left field and then scored after an Emily Gant single.
Gant was on point this game, contributing three of BU’s eight hits and generating one quality at bat after another. Gant was soon brought home by Holy Cross’s lone error of the game.
Ricard took this lead and ran with it, capping off the final two innings of work with a few more strikeouts.
After a two-game Sunday, both teams had the rest of the night to think about game three.
Game 3: Boston University 9, Holy Cross 0 (Six Innings)
After both teams returned to Freshman Field, BU picked up right where they left off. It was no surprise that the Terriers once again sent Ricard to the mound, who was historically good.
The freshman at Freshman Field concluded her excellent weekend with her first ever no-hitter. Ricard only had to pitch six innings this time, but was dominant nonetheless with 10 strikeouts compared to just one base runner; a fifth inning walk.
Due to her rising style, Ricard forced a number of fly balls that were sent harmlessly to her teammates throughout the diamond. With Ricard’s outstanding performance, all three BU pitchers this season now have at least one no-hitter to their name.
With the win, BU has now won their last 22 games versus the Crusaders, and Monday marked the Terriers’ 12th run-rule game of the season, and we’re just starting April.
BU went scoreless for the first three innings, as Yurchick held them at bay with a good pitch mix. It was Pryor, who let her speed loose all series long, tripled again to score Deppiesse. The Terriers tacked on four more runs in the fourth, punctuated by another triple, this time from Coker.
Coker later tripled in the sixth as well to push BU’s lead to 8-0. Gant singled home BU’s ninth, and then a scoreless bottom of the sixth resulted in the Terriers’ second run-rule of the series.
While Gant carried the second game, Keleher shined in the finale, recording a team-high three hits and four RBI’s, the latter marks a new season-high for the outfielder. Even though Keleher didn’t help out with a triple, BU set a program record with four triples in a single game. Keleher, who doubled twice, leads the team in doubles and is tied for second in triples.
Up next for the Terriers is a date with the UMass-Lowell Riverhawks. The meeting will be a Tuesday double-header, with BU travling to Lowell for just the second time since 2018.
The Terriers have won their last seven against the Riverhawks, and have never lost at River View Field. The first game is set for 2 p.m., with the finale getting underway a little past 4 p.m.