Softball: BU Wins Patriot League Despite Snapped Streak
By Michael Wax
Boston University Softball (48-8, 17-1 PL) defeated Lehigh (39-12, 16-2 PL) two games to one in a weekend series of Patriot League giants, outscoring the Mountain Hawks 16-6 over the three games.
With both teams heading into this weekend with an undefeated record in Patriot League competition, this three-game set would determine which team would win the Patriot League regular-season title and host the upcoming postseason tournament. In the end, Boston University won two games on Saturday to clinch their fifth consecutive Patriot League regular-season tournament (2020 not withstanding),
All three pitchers saw time in the series for BU. Allison Boaz put up 12 innings over two outings, giving up two runs and striking out 11. Freshman pitcher Kasey Ricard started game two for the Terriers, putting up five innings of three-run ball. Senior pitcher Lizzy Avery gave up a run over three innings across two outings.
GAME 1: BU DEFEATS LEHIGH 5-1
Boaz once again started the opening game for the Terriers, matched up with junior pitcher Katelyn Young for Lehigh.
BU got started early, scoring in the first inning yet again. With two outs and a runner on third, graduate student and designated player Emily Gant looped an 0-1 pitch into right field to score junior shortstop Kayla Roncin. This was the third consecutive game that BU had plated a run in the opening inning.
After each side was set down in order, Lehigh would tie the game in the bottom of the second. Junior center fielder Brooke Cannon would double with one out and came in to score on a fielder’s choice from freshman third baseman Sydney Parlett.
Both BU and Lehigh would have quiet third and fourth innings but would break through in the fifth. After junior center fielder Lauren Keleher was hit with a pitch to start the inning, Gant came up with two outs and lined a 1-2 pitch over the right field fence to give BU a 3-1 lead.
BU would extend their lead in the sixth and seventh. With two outs in the sixth, senior catcher Audrey Sellers would single home freshman second baseman Brooke Deppiesse to make it 4-1. After Boaz got through a jam in the bottom of the sixth, Roncin lined the first pitch of the top of the seventh over the right field fence to make it 5-1. Roncin’s eighth homer was also her 81st hit of the season, tying her own single-season BUSB record for hits in a season. Boaz would shut down the Mountain Hawks
GAME 2: BU DEFEATS LEHIGH 9-2
For a fourth consecutive game, BU scored in the opening inning. A walk and two straight singles, including a record-setting 82nd hit from Roncin, loaded the bases for Gant. Gant hit a 2-1 pitch to second, and an error from freshman second baseman Lily Owens gave BU a run and kept the bases loaded. Two batters later, Deppiesse flew out to center, scoring Roncin and doubling the lead.
BU would once again double the lead in the second, with Roncin going deep to left on a 1-0 pitch to score herself and Keleher to make it a 4-0 lead. After a quiet third, BU would again put up a two-run inning in the fourth, as Roncin singled home sophomore outfielder Tyesha Williams to make it 5-0, and scored on a single to center from senior third baseman Caitlin Coker would score Williams to make it 6-0. A seventh run came in the sixth inning, with Keleher doubling home freshman pinch runner Aimee Metz.
Lehigh would get their only runs of the game in the seventh, with Owens continuing her eventful series with a two-run homer over the center field fence.
BU got those two runs back in the seventh inning, with junior left fielder Kate Pryor doubling home Gant to get BU an eighth run in the game, and senior first baseman Nicole Amodio doubling home Pryor to make it 9-2. Ricard would finish off the game in the bottom of the inning, winning her 19th game of the year.
GAME 3: LEHIGH DEFEATS BU 3-2
Game three saw an extremely tight matchup, with Avery and Young returning to the mound and matching each other pitch for pitch. Neither team scored within the first four innings, and Lehigh had the only opportunity in the first three innings with a runner in scoring position. BU had the best opportunity to score in the fourth, loading the bases after a walk to Coker, a single from Gant, and a walk to Nett, but Pryor flew out to end that threat.
Lehigh left a slight crack in the door in the fifth, and it was all BU needed to get their first runs of the game. After a one-out single from Sellers, Keleher reached on an error from Brooke Cannon. After a fielder’s choice from Roncin, Coker came up with two outs and lined a double into right field to score both Keleher and Roncin and give BU the 2-0 lead.
Both BU and Lehigh would get runners into scoring position, but it would be the Mountain Hawks who would get the runs home. Making up for her error in the previous inning, Cannon sent a 1-2 pitch into the left-centerfield gap to score both Lily Owens and senior left fielder Josie Charles, with Cannon advancing to third on the throw home as well. With one out and Cannon at third, Ricard was brought in for her second appearance of the weekend. Sophomore first baseman Rory Dudley would get the better of Ricard, sending a sacrifice fly into center field to give Lehigh their first lead of the weekend.
Despite the 85th hit of the season for Roncin, tying the Patriot League single-season hits record, Young would shut down the Terriers in the top half of the seventh, pitching a 111-pitch complete game and handing BU their first conference loss of the season. The loss also snapped BU’s 28-game winning streak, the longest such win streak in BU Softball and Patriot League history.
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The Terriers will have a few days off before starting the Patriot League tournament on their home turf. Game one for every team is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.