Terriers Set to Battle Arkansas in NCAA Regional
May 16, 2012 | Softball
May 16, 2012
Game Notes | GameTracker | Tournament Central
BOSTON - For the third time in four years, the Boston University softball team is headed to the NCAA tournament as the Terriers travel to Berkeley, Calif., to face the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday, May 18. The Terriers are the No. 3 seed in the Regional for the first time in program history and will open play against Arkansas in the double-elimination tournament format.
California, the tournament's overall No. 1 seed and regional host, will play Iona in the other opening match-up in the Berkeley Regional.
BU UPDATE: BU (40-12, 15-3 America East) captured its ninth America East title on Sunday afternoon with a 5-0 shutout of Albany to receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The conference's regular season champions have won 40 games for just the second time in school history. In 2009, the Terriers posted a 43-18 overall record.
BU heads into the postseason as winners of 16 of its last 17 games and is currently riding a six-game winning streak. The Terriers won their final 11 home contests. The top-seeded Terriers went 3-0 in the America East tournament, defeating No. 4 Maine, 3-2, No. 2 Stony Brook, 7-3, and No. 3 Albany, 5-0, to win the conference crown.
Sophomore Holli Floetker was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. She was joined by classmates Jayme Mask, Brittany Clendenny and Amy Ekart on the All-Tournament Team.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: BU makes its sixth overall trip to the NCAA tournament this weekend and first appearance since 2010. The Terriers own a 5-10 overall record in the tourney.
The Terriers' trip to Berkeley will be the fourth NCAA tournament appearance for America East Co-Coach of the Year Shawn Rychcik, as he led BU to the NCAA Regionals in 2009 and 2010 and was an assistant coach in 2003.
TERRIERS HONORED: Led by 2012 America East Co-Coach of the Year Shawn Rychcik, seven members of the BU softball team were recognized with All-Conference honors.Junior Emily Roesch and sophomores Brittany Clendenny and Jayme Mask were named to the All-Conference First Team while junior Whitney Tuthill and sophomores Holli Floetker and Megan Volpano earned All-Conference Second Team honors.Freshman Mandy Fernandez was named to the All-Rookie Team.
TEAM LEADERS: Sophomore Jayme Mask leads the Terriers with a .368 batting average and 57 hits. She is also tied with classmate Chelsea O'Connor for the team lead in runs with 38. Fellow sophomore Megan Volpano leads BU with 36 RBIs off of 53 hits. Classmate Brittany Clendenny leads the team in extra-base hits (14 doubles, 8 home runs) and is second on the team with 55 total hits.
Sophomore Holli Floetker is 19-3 in the circle for the Terriers with a 1.36 ERA and 143 strikeouts. Junior Whitney Tuthill is 14-5 with a 1.84 ERA and 83 strikeouts while classmate Erin Schuppert is 7-6 with a 3.69 ERA.
SUPER SOPHOMORES: The Terriers regularly start five members of the sophomore class including Brittany Clendenny (shortstop), Amy Ekart (catcher), Jayme Mask (right field), Chelsea O'Connor (left field) and Megan Volpano (third base). The quintet has combined for more than 60 percent of the Terriers hits, runs and RBIs. The class of 2014 has totaled 257 hits, 144 runs and 129 RBIs on the season.
BATTLING THE BEST: BU heads into the NCAA tournament ranked 44th in the RPI. The Terriers played 26 games against teams that rank in the top 100 in the latest RPI, including six games against teams in the top 50. The Terriers went 16-10 overall against the teams in the top 100 of the RPI and 3-3 against squads in the top 50.
Based on the final USA Today/ NFCA Division I Top 25, the Terriers went 2-2 this season against ranked teams. BU defeated #19 USF and #25 Syracuse and lost to #7 Louisiana-Lafayette and #9 Louisville.
CALIFORNIA GIRLS: Six members of the Terriers are returning to their home state for the NCAA Regionals in Berkeley, Calif. Rookie Kendra Meadows hails from San Jose, Calif., which is about an hour away while sophomore Alyssa Barsanti's hometown of Morgan Hill, Calif., is also just over an hour away. Sophomore Megan Volpano is from Salinas, Calif., which is two hours from Berkeley.
The remaining Terriers, Melanie Delgado (Torrance, Calif.), Holli Floetker (Fountain Valley, Calif.), and Mandy Fernandez (Mission Viejo, Calif.) all hail from the Los Angeles area.
NCAA EXPERIENCE: Three Terriers have played in the NCAA tournament before. Senior Erica Casacci and junior Emily Roesch played in BU's appearances in 2009 and 2010 while junior Whitney Tuthill saw action in 2010. Casacci played in seven games with six starts in the NCAAs and posted three hits and two runs. Roesch has started seven NCAA games and recorded five hits, including a home run, three runs and two RBIs. Tuthill played in all three games in 201 0 with five hits, including a home run, and three RBIs. She also posted two wins in the circle in 9.1 innings of work.
ABOUT ARKANSAS: Arkansas finished the regular season with a record of 27-26 (7-21 SEC) and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Razorbacks are led be SEC Freshman of the Year Devon Wallace who batted .345 on the season with 48 hits, 14 home runs and 36 RBIs. Freshman Kimmy Beasley earned Freshman All-SEC honors after recording a 3.32 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 124.1 innings of work.
Arkansas is making its fifth NCAA tournament trip, with its most recent appearance in 2009. The Razorbacks are 3-8 in NCAA tournament play.
Friday's game marks the first meeting between Arkansas and BU. BU is 6-5 all-time against teams from the SEC, with a win againt Florida and four victories against Mississippi State.
CATCHING UP WITH CAL: No. 1 California is making its 27th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and will host the Berkeley Regional as the national No. 1 seed. The Golden Bears (50-4, 21-3 Pac-12) claimed the Pac-12 Championship. Senior Jamia Reid leads the Golden Bears with a .391 batting average and 75 hits on the season. Senior Valerie Arioto is batting .390 with 46 hits, including 22 home runs, and has driven in a team high 57 RBIs. Senior Jamia Reid leads the Golden Bears with a .391 batting average and 75 hits on the season. Senior Valerie Arioto is batting .390 with 46 hits, including 22 home runs, and has driven in a team-high 57 RBIs.
The lone meeting between BU and Cal came in the 1998 NFCA Leadoff Classic when the Golden Bears prevailed, 5-1. BU is 1-6 all-time against teams from the Pac-12 with the lone victory coming against Stanford in 2001.
INFO ON IONA: Iona earned the MAAC automatic bid the NCAA Tournament after winning its third conference championship. The Gaels went 35-24 on the season and 12-4 in the MAAC. The senior duo of Alyssa Maiese and Sarah Jackson lead the Gaels in the circle with ERAs of 1.25 and 1.26, respectively. Maiese went 17-10 on the season and was the Most Outstanding Player of the MAAC Tournament and Co-Player of the Year while Jackson posted a record of 17-12 and was named Pitcher of the Year. Junior Eileen McCann leads the Gaels at the plate with a .337 batting average and 57 hits on the year while Maiese boasts 55 hits and a team high 42 RBIs.
BU owns a 3-0 all-time record against Iona and last played the Gaels in a doubleheader on April 1, 1999. The Terriers swept Iona in both games by a score of 5-0. BU is 22-6 all-time against teams from the MAAC.
NEXT UP: If BU defeats Arkansas, it will advance to the winner's bracket and play the winner of No. 1 Cal vs. Iona at 3 p.m (PST) on Saturday. If the Terries lose to Arkansas, they will face the loser of No. 1 Cal vs. Iona at 5 p.m (PST) on Saturday.
