May 10, 2014

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Earning its seventh NCAA bid, the Boston University softball team captured the 2014 Patriot League title with a 10-5 come-from-behind win over Bucknell on Saturday afternoon at Lehigh's Kaufman Field. The Terriers (35-19) scored a combined six runs in the final two innings and will learn their postseason destination on Sunday (March 11) at 10 p.m. during ESPNU's NCAA selection show broadcast.

Led by second-year head coach Kathryn Gleason, BU captured its 10th overall conference title and first as a new member of the Patriot League. The Terriers last reached the NCAAs in 2012 when they went 1-2 at the No. 1 Cal Regional.  

A day after opening the 8-0 win over Army with a three-run homer, senior Chelsea Kehr came through again with an identical blast against the Bison (23-26) to earn Patriot League Tournament MVP accolades. Senior Amy Ekart contributed a pair of RBI doubles, while both senior Brittany Clendenny and junior Emily Felbaum scored two times apiece.

Sophomore Melanie Russell (12-3) pitched all 21 innings during the tournament to receive PL All-Tournament Team honors. In the title game, she limited the Bison to four earned runs off 11 hits and posted three strikeouts against one walk.

Joining Russell and Kehr on the All-Tournament team were seniors Jayme Mask and Clendenny. Mask went 5-of-12 for the tournament and hit the go-ahead RBI single in the sixth against the Bison, while Clendenny finished with a team-high four runs scored and played error-free defense at the shortstop position.

No. 3 Bucknell responded to Thursday's 4-3 eight-inning loss to the No. 2 Terriers by eliminating No. 1 Lehigh (3-1) and No. 4 Army (3-2) on Friday. The Bison needed two victories against BU to reach the NCAAs. The home team grabbed a one-run lead in the first, second and fourth innings but was shut out the last three innings for the loss. 

Cydnee Sanders entered the game with a .480 batting average and put Bucknell on the scoreboard first with a two-out single, stolen base and run scored on Kristen Zahn's RBI single. Junior Emily Felbaum tied the game in the top of the second by walking to first, advancing to second on a passed ball and scoring on Ekart's two-out double down the right field line.

The Bison came right back by immediately loading the bases behind a single, hit-by-pitch and bunt single that the Terriers hoped would go foul. Russell limited the damage by inducing a force out at home on a grounder, sacrifice fly to left and a strike out looking.

With one out in the third, freshman Brittany Younan and Clendenny hit back-to-back singles to set the stage for Kehr. On a 1-1 pitch, she lifted the ball high over the center field fence for the 4-2 advantage.

The lead did not last long though, as Bucknell scored three in the bottom of the fourth to move ahead, 5-4. Jacee Almond crushed her second homer of the tournament against Russell to tie the game. Bucknell continued to pressure the Terrier defense with a double and walk to put two runners on base with one out.

In the next at-bat, Zahn hit her second single, and BU committed a throwing error during an attempt to get the out at third. The Bucknell runners advanced an extra base to grab a 5-4 lead and put two runners in scoring position. Russell kept the flood gates closed by getting two pop ups to end the inning.

After stranding a runner at third in the fifth, the Terriers grabbed the lead back for good in the sixth with two runs off two hits. Felbaum led off with her second walk of the game and then moved to second on Ekart's sacrifice bunt. Freshman Moriah Connolly followed up with a two-out infield single that drew an errant throw to first. Felbaum scored the game-tying run, and Connolly ran all the way to third before giving BU the lead for good on Mask's two-out single up the middle.     

Russell got three quick outs in the bottom half, and BU blew the game open with four runs off three hits. Clendenny walked and Kehr singled to put runners and first and second. After a strikeout, Clendenny and freshman pinch runner Rachel Levine advanced an extra base on a wild pitch. The two Terriers remaind at their respective base when Felbaum hit a grounder to third but scored anyways on the same play, as Bucknell committed its third costly error. Ekart followed with an RBI double before scoring on Connolly's RBI single to left.

Trying to mount a rally, Bucknell got a two-out single and and hit-by-pitch. However, Russell shut the door by inducing a foul out to Ekart behind home plate to start the celebration.

The Terriers will next learn their NCAA regional destination Sunday night at 10 p.m. on ESPNU. The postseason will be held Friday, May 16 - Sunday, May 18.