April 27, 2014
Box Score | Fernandez's postgame comments
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BOSTON - Extending its win streak to 10 games, the Boston University softball followed up a 2-1 extra-inning victory with a 3-1 win for the doubleheader sweep against Lafayette on Sunday afternoon at the BU Softball Field. With the pair of wins, the Terriers improve to 29-18 (11-4 PL) to clinch a berth in the upcoming four-team Patriot League tournament.
Appearing in relief during the first game, freshman Makinna Akers (7-2) pitched the final seven innings and finished with seven strikeouts against zero walks. She allowed just four hits, including a solo shot in the fourth. Senior Brittany Clendenny tallied her fourth homer of the week in the sixth on a 1-2 pitch to help send the game to extra innings, and classmate Jayme Mask delivered a walk-off, two-out RBI single in the ninth.
Sophomore Melanie Russell (8-3) started the second game and earned the complete-game victory by holding Lafayette to one run off three hits behind nine strikeouts. Freshman Moriah Connolly had a RBI sacrifice fly in the third for BU's first run. Classmate Gabi Martinez posted an RBI single in the fifth and was followed by Mask's RBI triple to put the game away.
The Leopards (10-32, 4-14 PL) grabbed their lone lead of the weekend in the fourth inning during the first game when Allison Brown hit a lead-off solo home run over the center field fence. Kristyn Marinelli followed with a double against Akers, but Lafayette could not add any more runs. Akers induced an infield pop up and following a sacrifice bunt got a swinging strikeout.
Lindsey Cherry (3-10) held the Terriers to just three hits through the first five innings. She got a lineout to open the sixth before facing Clendenny. With an 0-2 count, Clendenny drew a ball and then fouled off three straight pitches before crushing the seventh pitch over the right field fence.
BU tried to win the game in seventh with two outs. Connolly and Mask hit back-to-back singles but, Cherry got out of the jam with ground out to second. The Leopards almost took the lead back in the top of the eighth, but junior left fielder Mandy Fernandez stretched her arm over the fence to catch what proved to be a loud fly ball from Jenna Orlando.
Finishing with three hits in the game, junior Emily Felbaum led off the ninth with a single, took second on Martinez's sac bunt and moved to third on a fielder's choice. With two outs, Mask plated Felbaum with a single to the gap in right-center to claim the victory.
In the second game, senior Amy Ekart led off the third with a double and eventually scored following Martinez's sac bunt and Connolly's sac fly to right. Marinelli tied the game in the top of the fourth on a two-out solo shot before the Terriers struck back in the fifth with two runs off three hits.
The Leopards tallied a hit in the sixth but never got a runner into scoring position for the loss. They entered their first-ever trip to Boston on a four-game win streak but leave the city with three straight losses.
Currently on its longest win streak since 2008, the Terriers will next host UMass Lowell on Monday (April 28) at 4 p.m.
