BOSTON – Led by four-hit performances from senior
Emily Gant and sophomore
Lauren Keleher, the Boston University softball team concluded the four-game homestand with a doubleheader sweep against UMass Lowell on Wednesday afternoon.
Reaching the 1,000-win milestone with their first one-run win (3-2) of the season and then extending their win streak to five contests with a 7-1 game-two victory, the Terriers improve to 16-13, while the River Hawks drop to 12-10.
Gant and Keleher combined for eight of BU's 14 hits, while senior
Nicole Amodio delivered half of the 10 runs scored. Junior pitcher
Lizzy Avery (7-8) went the distance in the first game, recording six strikeouts to out-duel Ryley White (8-2) after earning 15 strikeouts in seven total innings of work on Tuesday, while classmate
Allison Boaz (9-4) fanned three River Hawks in a complete-game effort against one allowed unearned run.
GAME 1: BU 3, UMass Lowell 2
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Avery started the game with two strikeouts, as UML stranded a runner at third.
- Sophomore Kayla Roncin earned a two-out walk and scored on Gant's triple to left center in the bottom of the first.
- The River Hawks tied the game without a hit in the top of the second on a walk, wild pitch, ground out and two-out fielding error.
- The Terriers regained the lead in the third, as senior Nicole Amodio hit a two-out, two-RBI single to center after graduate student Jen Horita moved to third on Keleher's double.
- UML cut the deficit to 3-2 with a single in the fifth and one-out RBI triple.
- The River Hawks tried to tie the game on a grounder to short, but Roncin threw a bullet to junior Audrey Sellers at home to apply the tag in time.
- Avery retired the final eight batters to preserve the one-run victory.
GAME 2: BU 7, UMass Lowell 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Junior Caitlin Coker led off the game with a homer for the first time in her career to give BU the lead for good.
- Amodio followed back-to-back singles from Gant and Keleher with a two-RBI double to right center.
- Amodio added an RBI sac fly in the third to plate Roncin, who stood at third following infield single, Gant's single and Keleher's fly ball to right.
- The River Hawks tried to rally in the fourth with a pair of singles but Boaz ended the threat with a ground out.
- Freshman Tyesha Williams scored the fifth run by singling to third, advancing to second on a throwing error, taking third on a wild pitch and scoring on Coker's RBI grounder.
- Keleher nearly put the game away in the fifth with a two-RBI double with zero outs, but UML got a strike out and 6-4 line out double play.
- The River Hawks avoided the shutout by scoring a run on a two-out error, but Boaz retired the final seven batters with a pair of strikeouts to seal the victory.
UP NEXT
- BU will begin its Patriot League regular season title defense with three games at Lafayette over the weekend.
- Saturday's doubleheader will start at 12 p.m.
- The Terriers are 22-0 all-time against the Leopards.