Terrier Twelve - #5: Late-Season Surge Propels Softball to Patriot League Title
July 29, 2016 | General, Softball
This summer, GoTerriers.com will once again count down the top 12 achievements of Boston University teams and student-athletes from the previous year. Check back each Tuesday and Friday as we reveal this year's Terrier Twelve.
Coming in at No. 5 in this year's Terrier Twelve is the softball team capturing its fifth conference title in eight years and senior Melanie Russell claiming Patriot League Pitcher of the Year accolades.The Terriers were coming off a disappointing 2015 campaign in which they went 17-27 and missed out on the four-team Patriot League tournament due to a 7-11 conference record. In 2016 with first-year head coach Ashley Waters and a youthful squad featuring just three seniors and six freshmen, BU started in trouble at 12-19 overall and 0-3 in conference play. However, the roster found its rhythm under Waters and went 16-3 en route to the program's eighth NCAA tournament appearance.
During that 19-game stretch, BU batted .330 and outscored opponents, 82-27, as Russell recorded 104 strikeouts in 87.1 innings while earning a 1.12 ERA. Highlighted by her first-career no-hitter at Holy Cross, senior Lauren Hynes was also stellar in the circle, going 4-0 with a miniscule 0.76 ERA. On the offensive end, junior honoree Brittany Younan batted a team-high .419, while classmate Gabi Martinez posted a team-high 18 RBIs. Both junior Moriah Connolly and sophomore Emma Wong batted over .380 and combined for 26 of the runs scored.
Once reaching the PL tournament as the No. 3 seed due to a 11-6 conference record, BU collected two wins over No. 2 Army West Point and a victory over No. 1 Lehigh by a combined score of 18-4. The Terriers eliminated the Black Knights, 9-0(5), in the final for the program's 11th-overall conference crown.
PL Tournament MVP Russell pitched all 19 innings and allowed just 10 hits with the help of seven strikeouts and a roster playing error-free defense. Connolly, Martinez and Younan joined Russell on the All-Tournament Team after combining for 11 RBIs and hitting over .360.
The NCAA selection committee sent the Terriers to No. 14 national seed Louisiana-Lafayette, who also hosted 16h-ranked Texas A&M and 25th-ranked Texas in the regional. Despite facing an early six-run deficit against the ninth-ranked Ragin' Cajuns, BU rallied to bring the game-tying run to the plate in the sixth before ultimately falling, 9-5. Freshmen Alexa Ponce recorded a game-high three RBIs, while classmate Alex Heinen hit a solo HR on ESPN2 to help the Terriers become just the fifth opponent to reach double-digit hits against ULL during the season.
BU avoided a run-rule decision against its second consecutive ranked opponent in the No. 16 Aggies but could not avoid its third shutout of the year in a 6-0 elimination loss. Despite the graduation of Russell and Hynes, the Terriers will enter the 2017 season with five 2016 All-PL members - rising junior JIlee Schanda, Connolly, Heinen, Younan and Wong.
2015-16 Terrier Twelve
#6: Men's Soccer Returns to the NCAAs
#7: Women's Tennis Three-Peats, Sweeps Major PL Awards
#8: Terriers Excel in Classroom, Set Department GPA Records
#9: Johnson Named Assistant Coach of 2016 USA Olympic Track & Field Team
#10: Adela Cejnarova Repeats as Patriot League Champion
#11: Men's Ice Hockey Returns to NCAAs, Reloads with Impressive Class
#12: Giving Day Reaches New Heights
Players Mentioned
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/ SoftballTerrier Twelve #4 - Softball
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