LOS ANGELES – Opening a 11-game road trip to the Golden State, the Boston University softball team posted a 5-2 win against Cal Poly and then came up just short to No. 16 Michigan, 2-1, on Friday afternoon at the UCLA Invitational.
The Terriers (12-5) relied on two strong pitching performances in the doubleheader split. Batting .316 as a team, the Mustangs (10-9) were limited to six hits by junior
Ali DuBois (8-4), who needed to overcome four BU errors to preserve the victory. Sophomore
Emily Gant (4-1) then went 5.2 innings with the help of three strikeouts to keep the Wolverines (15-7) at two runs, but Alex Storako (8-2) was able to compile 13 strikeouts in 6.1 innings to avoid the upset.
Sophomore
Nicole Amodio and freshman
Caitlin Coker led the offense against Cal Poly by combining for three hits, three RBIs and three runs scored. Freshman
Allison Boaz delivered a scare to Michigan with a pinch-hit RBI single that plated sophomore
Aliyah Huerta-Leipner. Junior
Jen Horita was the lone Terrier to earn a hit in both contests.
GAME 1: BU 5, Cal Poly 2
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After both teams stranded a runner in scoring position, Horita hit a one-out single through the left side and scored on Amodio's RBI double.
- The Mustangs recorded just one hit in the bottom half but managed to score two runs with the help of three BU errors.
- The lead did not last long, as junior Patricia Dun delivered a two-out RBI single in the third to plate Coker following singles by Gant and junior Marina Sylvestri.
- One inning later, Coker hit an RBI sac fly to center score Amodio, who earned a walk and then moved to third on back-to-back singles by sophomore Bella Gargicevich-Almeida and Gant.
- Amodio had her own RBI sac fly in the fifth, and Sylvestri added an RBI infield single during the sixth for the 5-0 advantage.
- The Mustangs tried to mount a rally with a two-out double, but DuBois got an infield pop up to preserve the win.
GAME 2: #16 Michigan 2, BU 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Storako set the tone early with three strikeouts in the first inning against the Terriers.
- Michigan followed with a one-out double and two-out RBI double in the bottom half for the 1-0 advantage.
- Dun earned a lead-off walk in the second and took second on Amodio's sac bunt, but Storako got a ground out and strikeout to keep BU off the scoreboard.
- The Wolverines took advantage of a hit-by-pitch in the bottom of the fourth with a ground out, single and RBI ground out to push their lead to 2-0.
- Horita broke up Storako's no-hit bid with a lead-off single in the fifth but was unable to threaten further.
- BU broke through one inning later, as Huerta-Leipner singled to right, moved to second on Gant's walk and scored on Boaz's two-out RBI single against former All-American Meghan Beaubien.
- Trying to add insurance, Michigan earned a pair of singles against Gant in the bottom of the sixth, but DuBois entered the circle in relief to get a swinging strikeout.
- After being hit by a Beaubien pitch to start the seventh, Amodio moved to second on a ground out before Storako reentered the circle and recorded two strikeouts.
DOUBLEHEADER NOTES
- DuBois moved into a tie-for-eighth all-time in the Patriot League at 59 career wins.
- The Terriers are now 4-2 this season in one-run decisions.
- BU battled Michigan for the first time in program history and moved to 1-1 all-time against Cal Poly.
NEXT UP: San Diego State & #1 UCLA
- The Terriers will continue the UCLA Invitational by facing San Diego State on Saturday (March 7) with a 2:30 p.m. ET start.
- BU will then battle the host and defending NCAA champion Bruins at 7:30 p.m. ET.
- Last year while in California, BU earned a 6-0 win against the Aztecs and then fell to UCLA, 12-0.
