Softball to Battle No. 21 Arkansas Twice at Razorback Invitational

Thursday, February 20

Fayetteville, AR

3:30 PM ET

Boston University

Arkansas

BU softball lines up along the first base line for the national anthem at Stetson.

Photo by: Steve Simoneau

Softball to Battle No. 21 Arkansas Twice at Razorback Invitational

February 19, 2020 | Softball

Live Stats

RAZORBACK INVITATIONAL (GAMES 11-15) INFORMATION
Teams: BU, #21 Arkansas, Montana, Marist, South Dakota St.
Dates: Thursday, Feb. 20-Saturday, Feb. 22
Venue: Fayetteville, Ark. | Bogle Park
Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierSoftball

BOSTON – Off to its best start through 10 games since 1994, the Boston University softball team will head to the Razorback Invitational for five challenging contests, starting Thursday afternoon against host and No. 21/23 Arkansas.

The Terriers will meet the Razorbacks for the first time at 3:30 p.m. ET and then have a rematch on Saturday afternoon at 1:15 p.m. ET. In-between the two contests, they will face off with Montana (Friday, 1:15 p.m. ET), Marist (Friday, 8 p.m. ET) and South Dakota State (Saturday, 11 a.m. ET).

TERRIER TIDBITS

BU is coming off a 4-1 performance at the Winthrop tournament, highlighted by shutout wins over ACC member Virginia (2-0) and three-time defending Southern Conference regular season champion UNC Greensboro (8-0).
The Terriers' pitching staff has totaled six shutouts already with junior and two-time Patriot League Pitcher of the Week Ali DuBois (6-1, 2 SV, 0.34 ERA) leading the way ... She has 52 strikeouts in 41.2 innings and is holding opponents to .182 batting average.
Sophomore Emily Gant (3-0, 1.72 ERA) has made four starts, while freshman Lizzy Avery (0-0, 0.00 ERA) has eight strikeouts in four innings of work.
On the offensive front, the Terriers totaled six homers in South Carolina after hitting just one at the Stetson Lead-Off Classic.
Sophomore Aliyah Huerta-Leipner (.400 avg.) has provided the power with three homers, a double, triple, 12 RBIs and 12 runs scored, while freshman Caitlin Coker leads BU with a .467 batting average and .568 on-base percentage thanks to four doubles, four hit-by-pitches and three walks.
Junior Patricia Dun is the third Terrier above .300 at .333, while junior Marina Sylvestri (.231) has 10 RBIs.
BU will be seeking its first win over a ranked opponent since shocking then-No. 1 Oklahoma in 2018 ... The Terriers went 0-5 last season, including a 3-0 defeat to No. 8 national seed Florida in the opening game of the NCAA tournament and a pair of losses at then-No. 14 Arkansas (4-2, 12-7) ... BU rallied to grab a 7-6 lead in the top of the sixth before the Razorbacks scored six in the bottom half.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

#21/#23 Arkansas, 7-1 (Thursday 3:30 PM ET / Saturday, 1:15 PM ET)

Arkansas is off to a 7-1 start in 2020 after going 38-20 last season … After dropping a 3-2 decision to Bradley, the Razorbacks are currently on a six-game winning streak by defeating Bradley, New Mexico State, Nebraska, Furman, UIC and Florida Gulf Coast by a combined score 52-14.
The Razorbacks' top batters this season so far are Linnie Malkin (.358, 3 HRs, 11 RBIs), Sydney Parr (.429, 5 RBIs, 12 hits) and Hannah McEwen (.429, 9 hits, 10 runs scored).
Arkansas has had three pitchers go at least 15 innings each with Jenna Bloom (1-0, 1 SV, 14.0 ERA) tallying 27 strikeouts in 15.0 innings ... Autumn Storms (4-0, 0.46 ERA) and Mary Haff (2-1, 2.38 ERA) own three starts apiece.
Overall, Arkansas is batting .376 while holding opponents to .218 with 21-10 advantage in extra-base hits.
The Terriers are 0-3 all-time against the Razorbacks having last squared off two times in 2019 at the Wooo Pig Classic with Arkansas winning, 4-2 and 12-7.

Montana, 5-5 (Friday 1:15 PM ET)

Montana is 5-5 to begin the year after going 25-31 last season … Owner of notable win over Louisiana Tech (4-3) and a 2-1 (10 inn.) loss to then-No. 18 Texas Tech, the Grizzlies snapped a five-game losing streak by defeating Weber State, 4-3, on Saturday.
Cami Sellers has the Grizzlies' highest batting average at .370 along with one HR and six RBIs … Maygen McGrath (.286) leads the team with three HRs and seven RBIs, while Brooklyn Weisgram (.259) has two HRs and two stolen bases.
Tristin Achenbach (4-2, 2.08 ERA) owns 42 strikeouts in 40.1 innings, while Michaela Hood (1-3, 2.30 ERA) is holding opponents to .216 batting average.
Overall, the Grizzlies are batting .204 while holding opponents to .243 with 11-5 advantage in homers.
This will be the first ever matchup between the two programs.

Marist, 3-1 (Friday 8:00 ET)

Marist is 3-1 this season after going 35-22 last season as the MAAC tournament runner-up … The Red Foxes are on a three-game winning streak after defeating Green Bay, Northern Kentucky and Belmont by a combined score of 16-6 following 1-0 loss to Green Bay.
The Red Foxes top batters are Caroline Baratta (.438, 3 RBIs), Kaley Coltrain (.385, 1 HR, 4 RBIs), and Claire Oberdorf (.364, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs).
Callista Phippen is 0-1 (1 SV) with a 0.78 ERA and nine strikeouts this season after going 19-5 with a 1.48 ERA with 190 strikeouts last season ... She was one of four to earn a start this past weekend alongside Kiley Myers (1-0, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA), Meghan Haff (1-0, 3.32 ERA) and Nicole Teague (1-0, 2.80 ERA)
Last year, the Red Foxes outscored opponents 242-187 and are currently batting .264 while holding teams to .202.
Marist leads BU in the all-time series, 4-1, after sweeping a doubleheader in 2017 in Boston, 8-2 and 5-3.

South Dakota State, 4-5 (Saturday 11:00 AM ET)

South Dakota State is 4-5 to begin the season after going 37-19 last year … The Jackrabbits went to Houston to earn two wins over Louisiana Monroe while also getting shut out by UAB, Texas A&M - Corpus Christi and McNeese State after opening the year with a notable win over DePaul.
The Jackrabbits top hitters are Cylie Halvorson (.400, 10 hits, 3 2Bs), Peyton Daugherty (.345, 10 hits) and Kelsey Lenox (2 HRs, 7 RBIs).
Grace Glanzer (3-2, 3.16 ERA) has started five of the nine games with four complete-game efforts by holding opponents to .211 ... Last season, Kendra Conrad (1-2, 4.11 ERA) led the Jackrabbits' pitching with an 18-7 record and a 2.87 ERA.
SDSU is batting .236 this season and holding opponents to .251.
BU leads the all-time series 2-1, winning both games at Missouri in 2008 by scores of 10-7 and 4-0.