Boston University (19-6)

vs. Yale (5-12)
Date & Time: Tuesday, March 21 | 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.
Venue: BU Softball Field | Boston, Mass.

at Merrimack (4-8)
Date & Time: Wednesday, March 22 | 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.
Venue: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.

Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierSoftball

BOSTON – Riding a three-game win streak, the Boston University softball team will host Yale in a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader and then play a pair of games at Merrimack on Wednesday. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. on both days.

Coincidentally, the Terriers will face familiar faces on both opposing coaching staffs. Yale is led by first-year head coach Laura Ricciardone, who was an assistant on Ashley Waters' first staff in 2016 after serving as two-time team captain at Harvard. A two-time Patriot League Player of the Year, Alex Heinen ('19) joined Ricciardone's staff over the summer. Merrimack is led by former two-time team captain Elaine Schwager ('95), who served as a grad assistant for BU in 1998 and claimed her 400th career win as a head coach last spring.

TERRIER TIDBITS

• BU went 16-4 at home last season with non-conference wins over Boston College, UMass, Providence, UMass Lowell (2x) and Merrimack (2x).
• The Terriers' pitching staff has tabulated 10+ strikeouts in each of the last three games, all wins against Baylor and Fairfield (2x).
• Senior Allison Boaz (10-3, 1.78 ERA) has tabulated 61 strikeouts in 70.2 innings while holding opponents to .198. Freshman Kasey Ricard (6-2, 2.56 ERA) has tabulated a team-high 69 strikeouts in just 54.2 innings, while senior Lizzy Avery (3-1, 1.84 ERA) has 21 strikeouts in 26.2 innings.
• Junior Kayla Roncin remains the team leader in batting average at .440 with three homers and 17 RBIs, while classmate Lauren Keleher (.429) leads the team with a .526 on-base percentage, BU's highest mark since 2011.
• Freshman Brooke Deppiesse (.294) has a team-high 18 RBIs, and senior Caitlin Coker (.325) owns a team-high nine stolen bases.
• BU is batting .310 as a ateam and is holding opponents to .207 with a 51-29 advantage in extra-base hits and 21-7 lead in stolen bases. 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Yale, 5-12 (Tuesday, 2 and 4 p.m.)

• The Bulldogs are looking to bounce back after being swept at Princeton (12-0, 5-4, 3-2) over the weekend in their Ivy League opening series.
• Yale owns wins vs. Nicholls State, Arkansas Pine Bluff, LIU, Southern Indiana and San Diego alongside one-run losses to Hofstra and Western Carolina.
• Willa Ferrer is batting a team-high .381 with three homers and 10 RBIs, while Lauren Perren (.275) also has three homers with a team-high 15 RBIs.
• Four pitchers have made at least two starts. Emma Taylor (2-6, 4.34 ERA) owns 27 strikeouts in 40.1 innings, while Nicole Conway has 21 strikeouts in 30.0 innings.
• Overall, Yale is batting .231 while holding opponents to .316 with opponents owning a 23-11 advantage in stolen bases.
• BU leads the all-time series, 11-7, after posting a 7-3 win in California in 2016. The Terriers will be hosting Yale for the first time since 1996.

Merrimack, 4-8 (Wednesday, 2 and 4 p.m.)

• The Warriors most recently went to Connecticut to win two of three at Sacred Heart (11-1, 6-2, 5-8).
• Merrimack owns a 5-4 win over Brown and 9-4 victory against UMBC with a 5-4 loss to Cornell.
• Ellen Hubbard is batting a team-high .432 with 11 runs scored, while Madison Cerpa has two homers, two doubles and 13 RBIs.
• Bry Michitson (3-2, 4.08 ERA) has tallied 19 strikeouts in 34.1 innings, while Madie Fornwalt owns 12 strikeouts in 18.1 innings.
• Merrimack is batting .255 while holding opponents to .306 with opponents owning a 29-8 advantage in stolen bases.
• BU leads the all-time series, 9-3, after run-ruling the Warriors last season in DH sweep at home, 10-0 and 10-2.

UP NEXT

• BU is scheduled to head down to Delaware to face both Villanova on Saturday (11 a.m.) and then the Blue Hens twice on Sunday (11 a.m.)