After more than two weeks away from the diamond, the Boston University softball team jumped back into its season with full force this past weekend, splitting doubleheaders with Princeton University on Saturday and rival Boston College on Sunday.
周六,犬(19)恢复效力the first time in 15 days, after weather and field conditions caused games against the University of Rhode Island, Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to be postponed. In the first game of the twinbill, BU shut out Princeton 1-0 behind a gem from freshman pitcher Ashlee Freeman before falling to the Tigers (9-10) in the second game 7-5.
The Terriers had fewer miles to travel the next day when they took on BC. BU dropped the first game 3-1 to the Eagles (18-11), but won the second when the team scored four runs in the seventh inning to take the nightcap 5-3.
Freshman pitcher Ashlee Freeman showed why she is the reigning America East Rookie of the Week after pitching a five-hit shutout in the first game against Princeton. In Freeman’s 15th complete game of the season, she struck out two batters and allowed no walks.
“She really gutted it out,” Hayes said of her rookie hurler. “In Florida, she saw in herself what she could bring to the mound. [Freeman and fellow rookie pitcher Brittany Detwiler] both have played high-level softball during the summer, so we expected them to do well.”
The Terriers’ only run came in the seventh inning after shortstop Jamie Haas and right fielder DeKenya Williams reached base on singles. Designated player Erin McDonald then stepped to the plate to lace a one-bagger of her own to knock in pinch-runner Tara Hodge and put the Terriers up for good.
Despite taking the loss in the second game, BU fought back from a 7-0 deficit by scoring four runs in the third inning. After three walks by Princeton pitcher Amelia Runyon, BU sophomore Liz Alley hit her first career grand slam, bringing the Terriers to within three at 7-4. They would tack on another in the fifth inning to make it 7-5, but they couldn’t bounce back from their early-game troubles to take the nightcap.
Detwiler took the loss for BU, giving up 10 hits and seven earned runs in only 1.1 innings of work after seeing Princeton Ty Ries crank a three-run home run in the first. The Tigers tallied 17 hits on the day, which was more than enough to fend off the late BU attempt at a comeback.
Coming into Sunday’s showdown with the Eagles, senior Abbey Pauley said the team was anxious to hit the field with its long-time rival.
“It doesn’t take us much to get riled up against them,” she said.
The Terriers opened up game one with a quick 1-0 lead, after Haas (3-4 with 2 RBIs) crossed the plate on a Williams single in the first inning. BU, however, was unable to score again in the game, while the Eagles broke open the scorecard in the fourth behind a solo homer and two RBI singles to take the 3-1 lead. Freeman, despite her troubles midway through the game, posted solid numbers from inside the circle, allowing only four hits over six innings while striking out five.
In the second game of the day, BU and BC were tied at one run apiece until the last inning, when Haas hit a two-run double to give the Terriers a 3-1 advantage. Hits from Liz Alley and Erin McDonald capped off BU’s four-run inning to put Hayes’ squad up 5-1.
BC, however, would make a run at the Terriers in the second half of the seventh, scoring twice to make the score 5-3 before putting runners at first and third with only one out. Freeman would hold on, however, inducing a pop out to end the game.
Williams, who had started the game, gave up only five hits and one earned run in six strong innings to take the win.
“It was just all out war against BC,” Hayes said.
Pauley said that after the postponements, she and her teammates had been eager to play again.
“It gets a little frustrating. We get back to the Northeast and we’re ready to play the teams we have rivalries with,” she said, referring to the squad’s matchups with Harvard and UMass. “It can wear on you a little bit.”
Pauley said the goal going into the weekend’s play was “just to come out fighting.”
“Princeton has won the Ivy League conference the last few years and we knew that they were a good team,” she said. “We just had to stay aggressive. Our plan was to come out and play hard.”
BU coach Amy Hayes echoed the statement.
“Our strategy was just to get out there and win,” she said. “We didn’t know much about Princeton, but we knew that if we could just get ahead, we could do something.”
The Terriers are set to (hopefully, if weather permits) play their first home game of the season Wednesday when they host a doubleheader against Quinnipiac University.
