Freeman Pitches Softball Terriers Into Championship Game
May 14, 2004 | Softball
GAME ONE - Boston University 3, Albany 2, 9 innings
GAME TWO - Boston University 5, Stony Brook 2
ORONO, Maine - The Boston University softball Terriers' heart and experience showed through in staving off elimination two times in the 2004 America East Softball Tournament on Friday, May 14 to advance to the championship game against the University of Maine on Saturday at noon.
B.U. (25-31), the third seed in the championship, defeated top seed University at Albany, 3-2, in nine innings in their first elimination-game test, then sent second-seeded Stony Brook University home with a 5-2 win.
Maine needs just one win against B.U. to claim its second conference championship. The Terriers need to win two games in the double-elimination tournament to win its third straight title and seventh in the 13 years the conference has sponsored a softball championship.
Freshman Ashlee Freeman (Northridge, Calif.), battling a hip flexor injury that has limited her the last two weeks, pitched every inning for the Terriers, giving up only two earned runs in 16 combined innings to improve her record to 17-13.
GAME ONE - Boston University 3, University at Albany 2, 9 innings
Top-seeded Albany broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning, as a fielding error by senior center fielder Abbey Pauley (Spring, Texas) allowed Maegan Larsen to score from second.
B.U. countered in the bottom of the inning. After a slap single by sophomore right fielder Emily Varga (Clinton, N.Y.), Pauley redeemed herself with an RBI double that tied the score at 1-1. Junior shortstop Jamie Haas (Houston, Texas) reached on an Albany error that allowed Pauley to score from second and give the Terriers a 2-1 lead.
Still trailing 2-1 entering the seventh inning, Larsen stroked a one-out single through the left side to give the Great Danes a much-needed base runner. Designated Brittany Burnham followed with a sacrifice bunt that the Terriers mishandled, allowing Larsen to score the game-tying run and send the game into extra innings.
Sophomore designated player Erin MCDonald (Macon, Ill.) singled through the right side to start the bottom of the ninth. Freshman Erika Myrill (Baldwin, N.Y.) pinch-ran for her and was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and fly-ball out. Junior third baseman Christy King (Albuquerque, N.M.) then won the game with a sharply-hit single to short that Albany couldn't handle in time, allowing Myrill to scamper home to give B.U. a 3-2 win and eliminate the Great Danes.
GAME TWO - Boston University 5, Stony Brook 2
B.U. broke out on top in the opening inning when junior left fielder DeKenya Wiliams (San Diego, Calif.) grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Pauley from third.
Stony Brook still trailed by a single run entering the fourth inning, but a two-run double to the right-center field gap turned the one-run deficit into a one-run lead at 2-1.
B.U. would take control of the game in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs, capped by a two-run homer by Williams to make the score 5-2 in favor of the Terriers.
Freeman would put the game out of reach with her second complete-game effort of the day, eliminating the Seawolves from contention.
Haas went 3-for-3 in the game and 5-for-7 on the day. Williams made up for an 0-for-4 game against Albany with a 1-for-3, three-RBI, effort in the Stony Brook game.
