Terriers Set for Pair of Non-Conference Midweek Games
April 8, 2014 | Softball
April 8, 2014
Wednesday's Dartmouth links: Watch ($) | Listen | Live Stats | @BUGameDay
Thursday's Boston College links: Listen | Gametracker | @BUGameDay
BOSTON - Coming off a second Patriot League series win, the Boston University softball team will look to continue to improve with a pair of midweek contests scheduled against challenging non-conference opponents.
The Terriers (19-14, 4-2 PL) will first visit Ivy League leader Dartmouth (18-13, 8-0 Ivy) on Wednesday (April 9) at 3 p.m. and then host Boston College (18-16, 4-8 ACC) on Thursday (April 10) at 4 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early at the BU Softball Field on Thursday, as Raising Cane's will be on hand to give away free chicken. There will also be a free raffle with prizes including a $50 Barnes and Noble gift card, free Domino's pizza coupons and more! The BU Pep Band will also be in attendance to perform throughout the game.
Last year in its final season as a member of the America East, the Terriers were banned from the conference tournament due to the upcoming move to the Patriot League and were unable to compete for a NCAA bid. Also hampered by injuries, they finished the season 21-26-1.
In its first season in the Patriot League, the Terriers have a mix of experience and youth and are just two victories away from matching last year's win total with 20 regular season games left on the docket. A key reason for the team's success has been the contributions from everyone in the lineup.
Currently batting .312, BU enters the week on track to break the school record for batting average, set by the 2007 squad at .300. Senior Jayme Mask is batting .427, while freshman Brittany Younan is second at .388. During Sunday's 8-4 win over Lehigh, Mask and junior Emily Felbaum (.272) contributed two-RBI doubles. Last Wednesday, senior Brittany Clendenny (.277) delivered a two-RBI single to lift BU past UConn, 3-1. Seven Terriers have at least 16 RBIs.
In the circle, sophomore Lauren Hynes (12-10) went 3-2 last week and pitched all 32.1 innings, as the rest of the staff recovers from injuries. She limited batters to a .274 batting average and finished with a 3.90 ERA after tallying 14 strikeouts. Two highlights include her holding UConn to just three hits and limiting reigning Patriot League Player of the Year Morgan Decker from Lehigh to 2-of-11 hitting.
After starting the season with a five-game losing streak, Dartmouth has gone 18-8 and is currently riding an eight-game win streak, highlighted by last weekend's four-game sweep over Columbia and Penn. The Big Green is batting .286 and owns a team ERA of 2.82. BU and Dartmouth will meet for the first time since 2010 when the Terriers claimed a doubleheader sweep at home.
Coming off consecutive Ivy League Player of the Week honors, Morgan McCalmon went 7-for-12 in four games last weekend with two home runs and seven RBIs, while also going 2-0 in the circle with a 0.60 ERA. She is batting a team-high .442 and owns a 5-3 record with 2.98 ERA. Kristen Rumley (11-6) has pitched 11 complete games en route to a 2.08 ERA. Kelsey Miller is batting .386, while Katie McEachern (.337) has six homers and 18 RBIs.
Boston College won the first match-up with the Terriers last Thursday, 8-0, in five innings. The Eagles then won the first two games of a weekend series with Pittsburgh by a combined score of 18-7 before dropping the rubber match, 2-0. With a RPI ranking of 71, BC is batting .272 as a team and owns a 3.40 ERA.
Before visiting the Terriers, the Eagles will first face UMass on Wednesday. Batting .287, Jessie Daulton hurt BU with a three-run double and two-run homer. Nicole D'Argento (12-10) allowed just four hits and struck out four batters against two walks. She currently has a 2.71 ERA with 133 strikeouts in 144 innings of work. Megan Cooley leads BC in batting at .405, while Tatiana Cortez (.211) has a team-high nine homers and 37 RBIs.
Following the two midweek games, the Terriers will next visit Holy Cross for a three-game series. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. on Saturday (April 12).
