Softball: A Warm Welcome Home, as Terriers Impress in Home Opener

By William Hanley

The 24th-ranked Boston University softball team (20-3) hosted and swept a doubleheader against Yale University (6-14) Tuesday afternoon.

After competing in five non-conference events in Florida and the Carolinas, the Terriers made their long-awaited return to Allston and put on a show for the home crowd, defeating the Bulldogs 7-1 and 7-0 in their home opener.

The first matchup of the afternoon began slowly, with three innings of scoreless ball for both teams. Graduate starting pitcher Allison Boaz – current Patriot League ERA leader – was flawless in the circle early, allowing no one on base while striking out seven of her first nine batters.

Yale’s Meredith Henderson kept pace with Boaz, inducing soft contact from BU’s hitters to preserve the stalemate, but the run drought broke in the top of the fourth when a leadoff double from senior infielder Carolyn Skotz sparked a brief rally for Yale, which yielded a run and gave the Bulldogs a one-run lead.

BU responded in the bottom of the fifth with a flurry of hits. A Kayla Roncin single drove in two runs to open the scoring for the Terriers. After another run came home on a fielder’s choice play, freshman outfielder Kylie Doherty struck a two-run moonshot — her second career home run as a Terrier — to left-center field to wrap up BU’s five-run inning.

Yale failed to respond in the sixth. After giving up two singles to start her relief appearance, graduate pitcher Lizzy Avery corrected course, striking out two batters and forcing a groundout to escape the jam. A pair of insurance runs from Roncin and graduate infielder Caitlin Coker in the bottom of the sixth sealed up the 7-1 BU victory.

Game two saw sophomore Kasey Ricard enter the circle to pitch for the Terriers. The Patriot League OBA and strikeout leader had a marathon performance, throwing 102 pitches, striking out eight batters and allowing only two hits to complete the full-game shutout.

After two scoreless innings against Yale’s Emma Taylor, BU’s bats caught fire, racking up seven runs on 10 hits to put away the Bulldogs. Keleher put BU on the board with an RBI triple, and Roncin made the lead 2 with a sacrifice groundout.

Sophomore infielder Brooke Deppiesse added one more run with a double before a Doherty two-RBI single and a Boaz triple brought BU’s lead to six. Roncin would ice the game with one more run in the sixth to earn the Terriers the 7-0 win.

All told the Terriers went .393 at the plate as a team in game two. Boaz, Roncin, and senior outfielder Lauren Keleher all hit over .500 and accounted for four of BU’s runs, affirming the batting lineup’s offensive potency and cementing their status as the Patriot League’s best offense.

The Terriers will travel to New York this weekend for a three-game series with the Army West Point Black Knights, their first in-conference opponent of the year. First pitch for the Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for noon.