BOSTON – Riding a 13-game win streak, the Boston University softball team will wrap up the home slate this weekend against Bucknell with first place in the Patriot League standings up for grabs.
The Terriers (31-17) currently sit in first at 10-2 with Bucknell (25-19-1) right behind at 12-3. They will open Saturday's doubleheader at 1 p.m. and then wrap up the series on Sunday at 12 p.m. The Senior Day ceremony honoring
Diana Parker,
Kaitlin Sahlinger,
Jilee Schanda,
Emma Wong and
Brittany Younan will take place prior to Sunday's first pitch.
TERRIER TIDBITS
- The 31 wins are the most in a season since the Terriers went 36-21 in 2016 with a 13-5 conference record ... BU went 14-3 in conference play last season, winning the last 14 contests to claim the No. 2 seed for the Patriot League tournament.
- The 13-game win streak is tied for the fourth longest in program history and is currently the fourth longest active streak in the country.
- BU is batting .293 and holding opponents to .246 while posting a 26-5 advantage in triples and 50-34 advantage in stolen bases.
- The Terriers are 8-2 at home following last weekend's sweep over Lafayette and are batting .318 with six of their 14 homers.
- Junior Alex Heinen owns a team-high .372 with 41 RBIs ... She is one of three alongside Schanda (.331 avg.) and junior Madi Killebrew (.327 avg.) to have double digit doubles with Killebrew owning a team-high 13 doubles.
- The reigning PL Player of the Week Schanda is currently on a 15-game hit streak, the longest of the season by any Terrier ... Wong (.356 avg.) owns a team-high 43 runs scored and owns the longest streak of successfully reaching base at 22 contests.
- Younan (.287 avg.) has scored 38 runs and leads the NCAA with nine triples while tallying 12 stolen bases, three shy of Wong's total.
- BU ranks 45th nationally in fielding percentage (.970) and earned run average (2.36).
- Freshman and reigning Pitcher of the Week Ali DuBois (22-6, 1.91 ERA) owns 153 strikeouts in 176.1 innings and ranks fourth nationally in wins while posting seven solo shutouts.
- Sophomore Lizzie Annerino (2-3, 2.51 ERA) pitched her first career solo shutout on Tuesday in a 7-0 win over Providence ... She owns five starts this season, while freshman Cali Dolfi (4-7, 2.61 ERA) and sophomore Kali Magane (3-1, 3.67 ERA) have combined for 12 other starts.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL
- Bucknell is riding a seven-game win streak and most recently claimed a doubleheader sweep at Penn State on Wednesday (7-6, 13-1) following a three-game sweep at Colgate (6-5, 6-3, 5-1) and two home wins over Lehigh (5-0, 6-1).
- Over the last 18 games, the Bison are 16-1-1 with a loss to Lehigh (4-1) and 4-4 draw against Mount St. Mary's ... Bucknell's two other Patriot League defeats came against Army (6-3, 1-0).
- The Bison are batting .277 and holding opponents to .254 while owning a 34-19 advantage in homers and 51-38 lead in stolen bases.
- Lauren Hadley is hitting a PL-high .382 with 10 doubles, seven homers, four triples and 32 RBIs, while two-time All-PL First Team member Meghan Kovac (.312 avg.) owns 13 homers and 41 RBIs.
- Taylor Wolfgang (.292 avg.), Marisa Alemany (.268 avg.) and Anna Gimmestad (.257 avg.) have combined for 12 other homers.
- A 2017 All-PL Second Team honoree her freshman year, Raeanne Geffert (17-8, 1.91 ERA) already ranks seventh all-time at Bucknell with 272 career strikeouts ... She has gone the distance 11 times in 26 starts and has played a part in four shutouts with opponents hitting .232.
- Lauren Licthenwalner (5-9, 4.07 ERA) and Taylor Langtry (3-1, 4.65 ERA) have combined for 18 starts.
- Bucknell's defense ranks 89th nationally in fielding percentage (.964).
SERIES HISTORY
- The Terriers are 8-5 all-time against the Bison in a series dating back to BU's entrance into the PL in the summer of 2013.
- BU is 4-2 at home with 2-1 performances in both 2014 and 2016.
- Last season, BU claimed a doubleheader sweep at Bucknell with a 4-2 win and 4-3 victory.
