BOSTON – Coming off a 2-2 performance at the FAU Kick-Off Classic, the defending Patriot League champion Boston University softball team will continue its stay in Florida by facing five teams at the EMU Madeira Beach Spring Invitational.
BU will open the three-day event on Friday at 9 a.m. against host Eastern Michigan and conclude the tournament Sunday at 11:30 a.m. against Southern Illinois.
TERRIER TIDBITS
- The Terriers opened the season last weekend at the FAU Kick-Off Classic with a 3-1 win over No. 23 Florida Atlantic and 1-0 win against North Florida ... They then fell to Bethune Cookman (5-1) and NC State (9-6).
- BU batted .327 for the weekend and held the four opponents to a .268 average though were outscored, 15-11.
- Junior and All-PL Preseason honoree Jilee Schanda batted a team-high .462 with two RBIs.
- Junior Kaitlin Sahlinger (.455) went 5-of-11 with a key RBI single against FAU, while sophomore Alex Heinen (.429) batted 6-of-14 (.429) with a double and two RBIs.
- Sophomore Emily Morrow (.231) hit her first-career homer last weekend.
- Senior Makinna Akers (1-1, 3.11 ERA) recorded eight strikeouts in nine combined innings of work, while freshman Kali Magane (1-0, 3.00 ERA) pitched a shutout against North Florida.
- Junior Sydni Overly (0-1, 4.42 ERA) started three of the games and finished with six strikeouts in 7.1 innings.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Eastern Michigan, 0-0 (Friday, 9 a.m.)
- EMU is seeing its first action of the season after going 19-32 last season.
- EMU batted .262 last season and held opponents to .293 in 2016.
- Michelle Kriegshauser is the top-returning hitter at .381 with seven homers, 35 RBIs and 15 doubles.
- Nicole Miranda (9-18, 3.81 ERA) pitched 11 complete games and finished with 85 strikeouts in 165.1 innings.
- The Terriers are meeting the Eagles for the first time since a 3-2 loss in 2006 at the Mercer Tournament in Georgia.
Oakland, 0-0 (Friday, 11:30 a.m.)
- The Grizzlies will open the tournament and season against Quinnipiac at 9 a.m. after going 13-31 last season.
- Oakland batted .243 and held opponents to .286 in 2016.
- Brittney Miller led Oakland last year in hitting (.360) with 25 RBIs and nine doubles
- Haley Zemmer (10-14, 2.15 ERA) pitched 16 complete games in 2016 ... Erin Kownacki is returning from a redshirt after posting a 16-14 record and 2.85 ERA in 2015.
- The Terriers are meeting the Grizzlies for the first time since claiming a doubleheader sweep in 2005 at the Georgia Tech Invitational.
UAB, 0-3 (Saturday, 4:30 p.m.)
- Coming off a 27-32 season, the C-USA runner-up Blazers opened the new year last weekend with an 0-3 mark featuring losses to Oregon State (4-0), Sacramento State (5-3) and Boise State (4-2).
- UAB batted .244 for the weekend with Molli Garcia and Joanna Fallen both hitting a homer after going a combined 8-of-18.
- Claire Blount (0-1, 3.11 ERA), Megan Smith (0-1, 5.25 ERA) and Cara Goodwin (0-1, 5.60 ERA) all pitched at least four innings.
- As a team last year, UAB batted .268 and held teams to .280 batting.
- The Blazers won previous meeting against the Terriers, 4-3, in 2010 at the South Florida Invitational.
Quinnipiac, 0-0 (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
- The Bobcats will be seeing their first action of the season this weekend after going 28-29 last season and reaching the MAAC semifinals.
- They batted .240 as a team and held opponents to .250 in 2016.
- Taylor Troyan is the top returning hitter at .301 with two homers and 11 RBIs ... Keilani Finley (.263) owned a team-high 22 RBIs with four homers and two triples and seven doubles.
- Casey Herzog (14-14, 2.92 ERA) and Kendal Brundrett (2-2, 3.13 ERA) are the top returning pitchers.
- BU won the last meeting, 13-2, in 2015 in Fort Myers, Fla.
Southern Illinois, 3-2 (Sunday, 11:30 a.m.)
- The Salukis went 3-2 last weekend in Hammond, La., with wins over Coppin State (11-0 / 5 inn.), Mississippi Valley State (5-0) and Patriot League member Army (7-0) ... Their two losses came against Nevada (3-2 / 8 inn.) and Lion Classic host Nicholls State (3-1).
- Coming off a 33-19 season and Missouri Valley Conference semifinal appearance, SIU batted .302 with an impressive 10 homers over the weekend and held the five opponents to .175.
- Haley Andrus batted .500 with a team-high seven RBIs, while Savannah Fisher (.308) had three homers.
- Savanna Dover (2-0, 0.00 ERA) had 11 strikeouts against five walks in 12 innings of work, while Brianna Jones (1-1, 1.19 ERA) finished with 13 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.
- BU won the last meeting, 7-6, in 2014 at the South Florida Invitational.
