LOUISVILLE SLUGGER INVITATIONAL (GAMES 21-25) INFORMATION
Teams: BU, Long Beach State (host), UCF, Iowa State, Nebraska, Sacramento State
Dates: Thursday, March 10-Saturday, March 12
Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierSoftball

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Riding a season-high five-game win streak, the Boston University softball team will conclude its trip out west to the Golden State with five games as part of Long Beach State's Louisville Slugger Invitational.

The Terriers will face off against three straight 2021 NCAA tournament participants, starting with the host 49ers on Thursday (March 10) at 5:30 p.m. ET. They will then meet future Big 12 member Central Florida and current Big 12 member Iowa State on Friday (March 11) in back-to-back contests starting at 12 p.m. ET. BU will conclude its participation in the event on Saturday (March 12) against Big 10 member Nebraska and then Sacramento State with another 12 p.m. ET start time.

TERRIER TIDBITS

• Facing two Power 5 schools this week, BU already owns wins against the SEC (Georgia) and Big Ten (Purdue). The Terriers were one out away from beating ACC member Notre Dame.
•  In Tuesday night's win at Cal State Fullerton, the Terriers claimed a season-high 14 hits after tallying 13 earlier in the day against Penn for the doubleheader sweep.
• Sophomore Kayla Roncin has won the last two Patriot League Player of the Week awards and is batting a team-high .433 with 17 RBIs.
• Senior Nicole Amodio collected her sixth homer in the walk-off run-rule win over Penn and now owns a team-high 20 RBIs.
• Senior Emily Gant (.375 avg) and graduate student Jen Horita (.324) have combined for 20 RBIs and 22 runs scored.
• Junior Lizzy Avery (5-6, 3.32 ERA) has made 12 starts and has tallied 54 strikeouts in 63.1 innings, while classmate Allison Boaz (5-3, 1.85 ERA) has tallied 30 strikeouts in 53.0 innings.
• Overall, BU is batting .271 while holding opponents to .277. The Terriers also own a .969 fielding percentage with opponents currently sitting at .961 FG%.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

at Long Beach State (8-10)
Thursday, 5:30 p.m. ET

• The 2021 NCAA tournament participant 49ers most recently went 3-1 at the San Diego Classic with wins over San Diego State, San Diego and Utah State along with a 4-2 loss to Stony Brook. They own earlier wins against BYU and Texas Tech after posting a  30-11 record last season.
• Naomi Hernandez is batting .436 with a homer and eight RBIs, while Justine Briones (.324) owns two homers and nine RBIs.
• Sophia Fernandez (3-2, 4.32 ERA) and Samantha Fowler (2-3, 4.90 ERA) have combined for 40 strikeouts in 64.0 innings of work.
• The 49ers are batting .297 while holding opponents to .262 with opponents owning a 17-5 advantage in homers.
• BU is 1-4 all-time against LBSU, most recently going 1-1 in the last two games of the shortened 2020 season with a 9-8(8) win and 8-0(5) loss.

vs. Central Florida (17-7)
Friday, 12 p.m. ET

• 2021 NCAA Regional finalist UCF is on a six-game win streak following victories over Fresno State, Pacific, FGCU (3x) and South Carolina. UCF claimed a 15-10 win against then-No. 11 Texas and is the only team besides BU to have beaten top-20 Georgia this season. The Golden Knights went 41-19-1 last season.
• Shannon Doherty is batting a team-high .357 with three homers and 14 RBIs, while Jada Cody owns five homers, 32 RBIs and 16 runs while batting .338.
• Gianna Mancha (6-2, 2.46 ERA) owns 65 strikeouts in 54.0 innings, while Kama Woodall (6-1, 3.24 ERA) owns 35 strikeouts in 41.0 innings.
• UCF is batting .301 this season and is holding opponents to .257 with a 54-42 advantage in extra-base hits.
• BU is 1-1 all-time against the Golden Knights, posting a 6-5 win in 2007 following an earlier 6-4 loss in 2005.

vs. Iowa State (12-7)
Friday, 2:30 p.m. ET

• 2021 NCAA Regional finalist ISU owns a 17-5 (5) win over San Diego and a 1-0 loss to then-No. 5 Washington. The Cyclones enter the tournament after posting a 6-1 victory against Loyola-Chicago. They finished last season with a 34-23 mark.
• Mikayla Ramos is batting .441 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs with Angelina Allen next up at .393 avg., while Milaysia ochoa (.295 avg.) owns 17 RBIs.
• Saya Swain (5-1, 3.23 ERA), Ellie Spelhaug (3-5, 2.59 ERA) and Karlie Charles (3-1, 2.41 ERA) all own at least four starts apiece.
• ISU is batting .302 on the season while holding opponents to .220 with a 69-28 advantage in extra-base hits.
• BU is 1-1 all-time against the Cyclones, posting a 4-3 win in 2015 in Florida before dropping a 1-0 decision in 2019 in California.

vs. Nebraska (11-6)
Saturday, 12 p.m. ET

• The Huskers most recently went 3-1 at home with two wins over Wichita State and split against South Dakota State after going 2-1 at Kansas. They went 22-22 last season, facing only Big 10 competition.
• Billie Andrews is bashing opponents with 12 homers and 24 RBIs while hitting .463 with Cam Ybarra close behind at .455 with three homers and 13 RBIs.
• Olivia Ferrell (5-3, 2.83 ERA) owns 50 strikeouts in 47.0 innings, while Courtney Wallace (6-2, 3.77 ERA) has 35 strikeouts in 48.1 innings.
• Nebraska is batting .321 while holding opponents to .287 with a 56-45 advantage in extra-base hits.
• This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

vs. Sacramento State (11-8)
Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET

• The Hornets are on a five-game win streak after posting three wins over Dixie State and a pair of victories against UC Davis. They went 15-27 last season with an 8-10 mark in the Big Sky.
• Lewa Day is batting .370 with six homers and 12 RBIs, while Lexie Webb is averaging .349 with eight homers and 16 RBIs.
• Marissa Bertuccio (7-1, 1.44 ERA) owns 64 strikeouts in 63.0 innings while holding batters to .224, and Webb (2-3, 3.08 ERA) has 15 strikeouts in 38.2 innings.
• The Hornets are batting .285 and holding opponents to .278 with opponents owning a 9-3 advantage in triples.
• BU is 3-0 all-time after winning all three meetings in 2009 in San Jose, California, by a combined score of 14-7.

UP NEXT

• After playing 25 games on the road to start its 35th season as a program, the Terriers will open the home schedule with a doubleheader against Merrimack on Tuesday, March 22, starting at 2 p.m.
• The Terriers will also have a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 23, with a 12 p.m. first pitch, against UMass Lowell.