Softball: BU Wins Three Straight Against Army West Point
Featured image by Sierra Jansen
By William Hanley
BOSTON – The Boston University Softball team (25-3) added three wins to their record and swept their first in-conference series after a weekend road trip to face Army West Point (4-22) in New York.
The 24th-ranked Terriers entered the weekend series against the Black Knights on a three-game win streak, including an extra-innings triumph over Michigan State and two blowout wins against Yale during the team’s home opener.
The series began with an afternoon doubleheader on Friday. BU’s bats were quiet early in game one, unable to drive in a run through the first three frames. Army added additional pressure on BU by driving in two runs on a pair of back-to-back RBI singles, sending the Terrier’s stalwart starting pitcher and Patriot League ERA leader, Allison Boaz, to the dugout after only two innings in the circle.
The Black Knights would add an additional run to bring their lead to three in the bottom of the third, but the Terriers responded with a barrage of hits during the latter half of the game.
Freshman outfielder Kylie Doherty continued to prove her worth at the plate, opening up scoring for BU with an RBI double that was followed up by a Boaz RBI single to cut Army’s lead to one. Doherty remained red hot at the plate, knocking a two-run homer – her fourth this season – in the fifth to give the Terriers the narrow lead.
Neither team managed to record a run in the sixth, but the Terriers exploded in the seventh, racking up five runs on six hits. Another two-run moonshot, this one hit by Boaz, extended BU’s advantage to three before senior outfielder Lauren Keleher – current Patriot League doubles leader – dealt the killing blow to the Black Knights, driving in three more runs on a double to right field to lock up the 9-3 victory.
Unlike in game one, BU wasted no time getting on the board in the second matchup of the doubleheader. Graduate infielder Caitlin Coker put the Terriers on the board with an RBI double in the first. Keleher and senior infielder Kayla Rocin – current Patriot League hits and RBI leader – drove in three runs on a pair of RBI singles in the second to put BU up four early.
The Terriers kept building on their lead as sophomore infielder Brook Deppiesse struck an RBI double to extend the lead to five. A Keleher solo homer, a Lizzy Avery two-RBI double and a Boaz RBI single put BU up by nine, entering the bottom of the fourth.
All the while, BU starter Kasey Ricard pitched nearly perfectly during her outing in the circle. Aside from hitting one Army batter with a pitch, Ricard allowed no hits, runs or walks while striking out nine of 15 batters faced to ensure the game would not go to seven innings. 9-0 Terriers was the final score after five frames.
After resting on Saturday, the team returned to the diamond the next day for the series closer. The game was a defensive affair. Coming off her shortened appearance in the circle on Friday, Ricard impressed, throwing a complete game shutout while striking out 14 and allowing only five hits on the day.
While Ricard hosted a pitching clinic, BU’s bats went silent, leaving nine runners on base through seven innings. Black Knights’ sophomore pitcher Amanda Elgin hung with Ricard all game, inducing poor contact from batters to keep the Terriers off the board and force extra innings.
Following a scoreless eighth inning for both squads, BU woke up in the top of the ninth. A double hit by graduate catcher Audrey Sellers gave the Terriers an offensive spark. Ensuing singles from Keleher and Roncin brought Sellers home. A Coker sacrifice ground out added another run to BU’s lead before an Avery RBI single put the Terriers up three.
Entering the bottom of frame of the ninth with substantial run support, Ricard came out and sat down Army’s batters 1-2-3 to clinch the 3-0 extra-innings win for BU.
The Terriers will be back in action Tuesday afternoon when they travel to Connecticut for a one-off game against the UConn Huskies (17-12). First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.