#BUSB Feature: Building Culture, Restoring Tradition, Writing History
May 16, 2018 | Softball
We've got a special group this season. See what a few of the Terriers had to say in their own words on how the team culture has guided them on a historic season. #ProudToBU #BUSB #RoadToWCWS #ncaasoftball pic.twitter.com/SnCL4Vanci
— BU Softball (@TerrierSoftball) May 17, 2018
By Meg Kelly, BU Athletic Communications
BOSTON – Softball is a game of repetition. There are three outs to make per inning, repeat that seven times, score more runs that the other team, and you have yourselves a game.
It doesn't matter what type of team takes the field, the task is the same. Rise, play and repeat from February to May.
Where teams can separate from the pattern of the game lies within the intangible stat that determines the outcome of the box score but is concealed from it.
Culture.
Something that is more prevalent than ever on this year's 2018 Boston University softball team, which captured its third Patriot League title and is primed to make its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday at No. 4 Oklahoma.
To understand how far the culture has come, it starts with how the five-member senior class of Diana Parker, Kaitlin Sahlinger, Jilee Schanda, Emma Wong and fifth-year senior Brittany Younan started. After experiencing a 17-27 season in 2015, they vowed that things would change, and it would start with them.
"We've made some big changes as a team overall," affirmed Sahlinger. "Especially for us seniors, we've seen what we don't want out of a year and what we want our program to be and know it can be. In having a year that was kind of up and down, we kind of figured out that we know where we can be and the second year we came back a lot stronger."
In addition to a culture change, a coaching change took place as Ashley Waters and Becca Carden arrived ready to reestablish the program as one of the premier teams in the Northeast.
"Coming back as a sophomore class with a new coaching staff we felt like we had a fresh slate," said Schanda. "From there, we really grew together as a team. The culture was defined by each and every one of us. We laced each other's personalities to kind of make us who we are."
Waters and Carden's presence were immediately felt by the team, a new belief was instilled, and success followed. In Waters' first season at the helm, the Terriers won their first Patriot League title and finished with a 28-24 record.
"Honestly, I wanted to make them feel great about themselves every single day," recalled Waters. "When you feel good, you play good. That was something that resonated with me as a player. I played my best when my coaches really believed in me, they stood by me even on my worst days. That was kind of my big push – every single day to show up, work on things, make them feel better about themselves, make them feel good and believe every day we're going in the right direction and I believe in them."
BU fell just short of a second straight Patriot League title last season, dropping a pair of one-run games to Lehigh in the championship series, but the groundwork had been laid and the senior class was ready to leave its legacy with one more shot at a Patriot League title.
"I think that our class and the class ahead of us really tried to create a team culture that was very collaborative and very supportive of each other," said Wong. "Where we were always supported what other people were doing and celebrated other people's success rather than just our own. We really built that from the ground up and it really gave us a good foundation, especially going into this year."
The Terriers got off to a hot start, picking up wins against a pair of major conference opponents, Duke and Michigan State, at the FAU Kick-Off Classic to start the season before downing then-No. 1 Oklahoma, 4-3, at the Troy Cox Classic.
It was the first time the Terriers have beaten a No. 1 ranked team, never mind the two-time defending national champion. It was the arguably the biggest upset in all of college softball this season, but for the culture-driven Terriers, it was just another game, another 21 outs to get through.
"We've always had a good team culture, but there's something different about this year," said sophomore pitcher Lizzie Annerino. "It's never a pressing situation, it's always calm and I think that comes from the seniors. They're always calm and they know that we're going to get it done so there's never a pressing moment."
The senior class guided the Terriers through the regular season, which included a 15-game win streak, good one of the longest win streaks in the nation, and claimed the regular season Patriot League title.
Though the regular season crown was not what the senior class worked for as they readied for their final postseason run.
The Terriers dominated the field at this season's Patriot League Tournament, run-ruling Army in the opening game, 8-0, before downing Bucknell, 6-4, to advance to the championship series, where it would get a second chance at the Mountain Hawks.
Junior Madi Killebrew closed her historic performance at the tournament with a three-run home run in the championship game, as BU picked up its second run-rule victory of the week in an 8-0 triumph to claim its second title in three seasons. Killebrew earned Patriot League Tournament MVP honors after smoking a tournament-record 10 RBI on four extra-base hits.
"We have a lot of different people in a lot of different roles that embrace it," said Waters. "The beautiful thing is when there's a different hero every single day, you feel like somebody else can contribute. It's pretty cool when it's not just one or two people, it's every single person having their hand in it. We only win with these 18 kids, if you take one out of the equation, it's a different environment."
Those 18 Terriers are headed to Norman for a nationally-televised rematch against Oklahoma on Friday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
For the five seniors, they have left their legacy, built the culture, and will leave the program in good hands.
"They set a standard from the beginning that they're here to work hard," said freshman Marina Sylvestri on the senior class. "They're here to get to this point where we are right now, getting ready for regionals. It's been so evidence that as a team, we've been able to work together to get to this point."
The one thing that's left to do is lace up the cleats, don the Boston jersey and play the game, together.
"It's all about the team success, always about everybody else," said Schanda. "We always want to succeed for the person standing next to us. I absolutely love this team, they are such great people and I couldn't be prouder to walk away from this sport my senior year with every single person on this roster by my side."
