BU to End Spring Break Trip at Mizuno Invitational
March 11, 2016 | Softball
| BU Softball (4-11) at Mizuno Invitational |
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| Date | Friday, March 11 - Saturday, March 12 |
| Venue | Amy S. Harrison Field - Riverside, Calif. |
| Live Stats | Mizuno Invitational Central |
| Social Media |
@BUGameDay | @BostonUSoftball | Instagram |
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Concluding its spring break trip in California, the Boston University softball team will open the two-day Mizuno Invitational against Southern Utah and host UC Riverside Friday with first pitch set for 12 p.m. ET.
After facing the Thunderbirds (3-19), the Terriers (4-11) will battle the Highlanders (17-6) at 5 p.m. ET. BU will then conclude the event on Saturday against Yale (1-4) at 2:30 p.m. ET and Southern Utah in a rematch set for 5 p.m. ET.
TERRIER TIDBITS
• Seven of BU's 11 losses have been by two runs or less with five games decided by one run ... Loyola Marymount handed the Terriers two losses on Thursday, 3-1 and 6-5, with the help of two late homers.
• A native of Lakewood, Calif., freshman Emily Morrow has thrived in her home state, posting a team-high .533 batting average with eight hits, four RBIs and three runs scored.
• Junior Moriah Connolly also owns eight hits for a .400 avg in six games and leads BU with two stolen bases during the trip ... Sophomore Jilee Schanda (.333 avg) is the other Terrier above .300 with two RBIs.
• Senior Lauren Hynes (3-5, 2.74 ERA) has started four of the six games and struck out 21 batters in 24.2 innings while holding opposing batters to .238 avg.
SCOUTING OPPONENTS
Southern Utah, 3-19 (Friday, 12 p.m. ET | Saturday, 5 p.m. ET)
• The teams will meet for the first time ever.
• Members of the Big Sky conference, the Thunderbirds have lost 11 straight ... They own wins over Boise State, Colorado State and UNLV.
• SUU is batting .230 while opponents are batting .390 ... Morgan Leonard (.340) leads the Thunderbirds with 13 RBIs, three homers and two triples, while Jordan Theurer is batting a team-high .365 with 10 RBIs.
• Theurer (0-7, 7.61 ERA) leads the team with seven starts in the circle ... She has struck out 21 batters in 47.1 innings.
UC Riverside, 17-6 (Friday, 5 p.m. ET)
• The teams have only met twice, splitting a pair of matchups during Arizona's Wildcat Invitational in 2013 ... UCR won the first game, 2-0, before BU pulled out a 7-6 victory.
• The Highlanders are currently on a 10-game win streak with key wins over Creighton, Kansas, Army and San Diego (2x) ... UCR is 12-1 at home with its lone loss coming against Canisius in doubleheader split.
• UCR is batting .313 avg while holding opponents to a .250 avg ... Madeline Richard is batting an impressive .486 and owns 18 stolen bases with 24 runs scored ... Jenna Curtan (.353 avg) has recorded a team-high 20 RBIs with three triples, three doubles and two homers.
• The Highlanders have relied on two pitchers this year - Kaylynn Pierce (8-2, 3.63 ERA) and Tayler Misfeldt (9-4, 3.99 ERA) ... Both of them have identical 54 strikeouts.
Yale, 1-4 (Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET)
• BU won the last two meetings in 2014 at the Yale Invitational with the Terriers following up a 3-2 extra-inning victory with a 13-2 win.
• The Bulldogs haven't played since going 1-4 at the Citrus Classic on Feb. 26-28 ... They posted a 5-0 win over Morgan St. after falling to Charlotte, UCF, Penn State and East Carolina by a combined score of 25-6.
• Yale batted .246 while opponents batted .316 in five games ... Rachel Paris went 5-of-10 with a double and two RBIs ... Lauren Delgadillo, Brittany Labbadia and Shelby Kennedy also collected five hits apiece at the event.
• Francesca Casalino (1-2, 2.72 ERA) started in three of the five games ... Lindsay Efflandt (0-2, 6.52 ERA) started the other two contests.
UP NEXT
• After 19 games on the road to open the season, the Terriers will host Providence Wednesday (March 16) at 4 p.m.
• BU is scheduled to host 17 games this year with eight total against non-conference opponents.
