April 22, 2008

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BOSTON - The league-leading Boston University softball team will take on Maine (8-35, 7-7 AE) and Harvard (21-18, 12-4 Ivy League) in a pair of single games this week, beginning with the Black Bears on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. Following the mid-week match-up, the Terriers will make the short trek to Harvard for a 4:00 p.m. start. BU enters this week's competition with a 26-15 overall mark and 12-2 America East mark.

The Terriers and Black Bears met earlier in the season in a twinbill at BU Softball Field. BU claimed a 5-0 shutout in the first contest and followed up with an 8-3 victory in game two. Freshman April Setterlund was an impressive 5-for-8 with two RBI, while junior Brooke Hudson went 3-for-6 with two RBI. The pitching staff was also solid, as sophomores Cassidi Hardy and Megan Currier went the distance in their respective games. Hardy pitched a one-hit game, issuing one walk and striking out six batters, and Currier allowed three runs on three hits with six strikeouts.

Since the last meeting, Maine was swept by Albany but recently picked up wins over Vermont and Colby. Ashley Waters is the squad's only batter hitting above .300 with a .350 average. She has collected a team-high 10 doubles to go along with nine home runs and 28 RBI. In the pitching circle, Jenna Balent is 5-12 with a 4.26 ERA in 25 appearances.

Harvard currently sits at the top of the Ivy League north division standings with a 12-4 conference mark - five games ahead of second-place Dartmouth. Most recently, the Crimson split with Brown on Sunday, April 20. In the first game, the Bears took a 7-6 decision in eight innings, but the Crimson rebounded with a 6-0 victory in game two.

Ellen Macadam leads a prolific Harvard offense with a .364 batting average. Three other Crimson are also hitting above .300 as Emily Henderson (.336), Jennifer Francis (.336) and Lauren Murphy (.330) have been productive in the batter's box. As a squad, the Crimson lead the league in stolen bases (42), while the pitching staff has collected the most saves (6) in the Ivy League. Harvard is second in the conference in batting (.298) and RBI (190).

For BU, the Terriers shook off back-to-back losses to in-state rivals Boston College and UMass last week with a sweep of conference foe UMBC. The three wins pushed BU past Albany in the AE standings, where the squad now sits in first place and one game ahead of the Great Danes.

Freshman Melanie Delgado earned America East Rookie of the Week honors after hitting .357 with three RBI over five games last week. It was her first conference honor as a Terrier. Junior Melissa Dubay continues to lead the offense with a .367 batting average and 27 RBI. She has also recorded team highs for triples (2) and home runs (5). Freshman April Setterlund has come on strong recently and is now second on the team in batting average (.356). Junior Shayne Lotito has swiped 16 bags this season to stand in third in the AE rankings.

On the mound, sophomore Cassidi Hardy owns a 12-5 record, a 2.09 ERA and one save in 22 appearances, while striking out a team-high 104 batters.

The Terriers' defense has also been rock solid, as they lead the league in fielding percentage (.973) and double plays (20). BU's 20 double plays also rank fourth nationally.

Boston University will return to BU Softball Field to host Binghamton in a three-game series beginning on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.