Softball Set to Face Vermont in Regular-Season Finale
May 4, 2007 | Softball
Gametracker: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
BOSTON – The Boston University softball team travels to Vermont for the regular-season finale on Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6. First pitch is set for noon on Saturday. The Terriers have won 14 of their last 18 games and are 31-12 overall and 14-3 in America East. The Catamounts are fresh off their three-game sweep of Binghamton and now stand at 12-26 overall and 5-13 in conference action.
The Terriers have been dominant in the all-time series history with Vermont leading 38-5. BU has swept 12 of the 16 series over the last 17 years, including a seven-year span from 1997 to 2003 when the Terriers went undefeated against the Catamounts. Last year, BU took the first two games before Vermont prevented the sweep with a 5-4 win in eight innings.
Vermont has put together a string of three straight wins following its sweep of Binghamton last week. It is the second time this season the Catamounts put together three consecutive victories. Vermont is led offensively by Aimee Kern with a .315 batting average. Sara Toczylowski leads with five doubles, five home runs and 15 RBI. On the mound, Kern has been the Catamounts’ mainstay with a 2.27 ERA and 10-14 record.
The Terriers need one win to wrap up the regular-season crown and claim home field advantage in the America East Tournament. They have been dominant in league action sweeping three series and never losing more than one contest to an AE team. The turning point came when BU swept UMBC to reclaim first place, a spot it has yet to relinquish. In the most recent NFCA RPI the Terriers are ranked 60th – the highest ranked America East school.
BU has proven it is more than capable of hitting the long ball, doubling its previous team record of 29. It now has 58 on the season and ranks ninth nationally in home runs per game. Senior Chiya Louie has been at the forefront of the Terriers’ home run derby with a single-season school record of 13. Against Boston College, Louie tied Liz Alley’s career record of 31. Another slugger with a big bat has been freshman Rachel Hebert, who has knocked 10 over the fence in her rookie campaign.
The Terriers have six batters hitting over .300 with sophomore catcher Christy Leath leading the way with a .374 average. Louie is the team’s RBI leader with 39, while sophomore Melissa Dubay leads the conference with four triples.
In addition to its prolific offense BU has been stingy on defense, leading America East with a .966 fielding percentage and recording the second-fewest errors in the conference (44).
Freshman Megan Currier owns a 2.06 ERA and leads the conference in winning percentage (.810) and wins (17). She needs one win to tie the BU freshman win record, currently held by teammate Cassidi Hardy and Ashlee Freeman.
The America East Tournament begins on Thursday, May 10.
