Terrier Twelve - #1: Regular-Season Shocker Propels Softball to Historic Campaign
August 3, 2018 | General, Softball
For the 11th straight year, 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.
Claiming the top spot in this year's Terrier Twelve is the softball team's historic campaign that featured an upset win over two-time defending national champion Oklahoma, a sweep of the major athletic Patriot League awards, the program's first opportunity to host the PL tournament and the Terriers' sixth appearance in the NCAAs over the last 10 years.
Guided by 2018 PL and ECAC Coach of the Year Ashley Waters, the Terriers started the campaign 3-3 before stunning then-No. 1 Oklahoma, 4-3, on Feb. 17 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and becoming the first New England squad to defeat the nation's top-ranked ranked team. The confidence-building win helped them finish 15-3 in conference play and clinch their first Patriot League regular season title since joining the conference in the summer of 2013. They then dominated the competition in their first tournament-hosting opportunity in six years with a pair of run-rule victories to claim their second PL title under Waters and return to the NCAAs for the ninth time overall.
BU swept through the major conference honors with junior Alex Heinen (.355 avg., 50 RBIs, 12 2Bs) becoming the second catcher in PL history to be named the Player of the Year. She was the second consecutive Terrier to earn the recognition after senior outfielder Jilee Schanda was tabbed in 2017. Senior shortstop Brittany Younan redshirted last season due to injury and bounced back in the spring to claim Defensive Player of the Year accolades for her second major honor, as she was previously named Rookie of the Year in 2014.
Freshman Ali DuBois (28-8, 2.02 ERA) became the first Terrier in program history to be recognized by a conference as both the Pitcher and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Tallying a school-record 28 wins and PL-tying record 11 shutouts, she later added to her awards haul by earning the second ECAC Rookie of the Year honor in PL history. Junior Madi Killebrew added one more major award for the Terriers by posting a PL tournament-record 10 RBIs to capture tournament MVP accolades.
During the regular season, BU won eight straight games in March for its longest non-conference game win streak since 2006. The Terriers later won 15 straight contests in April for their longest overall win streak since 2001, which also tied the 2015 Lehigh squad for the longest in PL history. They batted .291, fifth-highest average in program history, and led the NCAA with 32 triples. Heinen posted 71 hits (tied-for-seventh in PL history) and 50 RBIs (No. 2 in PL history), while senior Emma Wong reached home plate 52 times (No. 3 in PL history).
The 2018 squad will be remembered for its depth, as a program-record seven Terriers claimed All-PL honors with DuBois, Heinen, Schanda, Wong, Younan, senior Kaitlin Sahlinger and junior Emily Morrow all making the list. On the defensive end, BU posted a 0.969 fielding percentage, far above opponents' 0.945. In the circle, freshman Cali Dolfi, sophomore Lizzie Annerino and sophomore Kali Magane earned at least three wins apiece and helped DuBois in limiting opponents to just .245 batting.
The Terriers also had success in the classroom with 11 members earning a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Both Schanda and Wong received All-Academic PL Team honors as well.
Claiming the top spot in this year's Terrier Twelve is the softball team's historic campaign that featured an upset win over two-time defending national champion Oklahoma, a sweep of the major athletic Patriot League awards, the program's first opportunity to host the PL tournament and the Terriers' sixth appearance in the NCAAs over the last 10 years.
Guided by 2018 PL and ECAC Coach of the Year Ashley Waters, the Terriers started the campaign 3-3 before stunning then-No. 1 Oklahoma, 4-3, on Feb. 17 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and becoming the first New England squad to defeat the nation's top-ranked ranked team. The confidence-building win helped them finish 15-3 in conference play and clinch their first Patriot League regular season title since joining the conference in the summer of 2013. They then dominated the competition in their first tournament-hosting opportunity in six years with a pair of run-rule victories to claim their second PL title under Waters and return to the NCAAs for the ninth time overall.
BU swept through the major conference honors with junior Alex Heinen (.355 avg., 50 RBIs, 12 2Bs) becoming the second catcher in PL history to be named the Player of the Year. She was the second consecutive Terrier to earn the recognition after senior outfielder Jilee Schanda was tabbed in 2017. Senior shortstop Brittany Younan redshirted last season due to injury and bounced back in the spring to claim Defensive Player of the Year accolades for her second major honor, as she was previously named Rookie of the Year in 2014.
Freshman Ali DuBois (28-8, 2.02 ERA) became the first Terrier in program history to be recognized by a conference as both the Pitcher and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Tallying a school-record 28 wins and PL-tying record 11 shutouts, she later added to her awards haul by earning the second ECAC Rookie of the Year honor in PL history. Junior Madi Killebrew added one more major award for the Terriers by posting a PL tournament-record 10 RBIs to capture tournament MVP accolades.
During the regular season, BU won eight straight games in March for its longest non-conference game win streak since 2006. The Terriers later won 15 straight contests in April for their longest overall win streak since 2001, which also tied the 2015 Lehigh squad for the longest in PL history. They batted .291, fifth-highest average in program history, and led the NCAA with 32 triples. Heinen posted 71 hits (tied-for-seventh in PL history) and 50 RBIs (No. 2 in PL history), while senior Emma Wong reached home plate 52 times (No. 3 in PL history).
The 2018 squad will be remembered for its depth, as a program-record seven Terriers claimed All-PL honors with DuBois, Heinen, Schanda, Wong, Younan, senior Kaitlin Sahlinger and junior Emily Morrow all making the list. On the defensive end, BU posted a 0.969 fielding percentage, far above opponents' 0.945. In the circle, freshman Cali Dolfi, sophomore Lizzie Annerino and sophomore Kali Magane earned at least three wins apiece and helped DuBois in limiting opponents to just .245 batting.
The Terriers also had success in the classroom with 11 members earning a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Both Schanda and Wong received All-Academic PL Team honors as well.
2017-18 Terrier Twelve
#2: Field Hockey Claims Third PL Title in Four Years
#3: Men's Ice Hockey Claims Hockey East Crown
#4: Lightweight Rowing Reaches Top Spot in National Poll
#5: Terriers Set Department GPA Records
#6: Men's and Women's Track & Field Standouts
#7: Luevano Captures PL Title in Stellar Cross Country Campaign
#8: Student-Athletes Fuel Another Record-Breaking Giving Day
#9: Gray Shines in Debut Season; Terriers Pull Off Top-10 Upset
#10: Victoria Bach Rewrites the Women's Hockey Record Book
#11: Anderson's Standout Women's Swimming & Diving Senior Season
#12: Women's Soccer Standouts
Players Mentioned
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/ SoftballTerrier Twelve #4 - Softball
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