BOSTON - The top-seeded and 25th-ranked Boston University softball team opened the Patriot League Tournament with a 5-1 win over fourth-seeded Bucknell on Thursday at BU Softball Field.

BU (49-8) erased a 1-0 deficit thanks to a three-run third inning against the Bison (16-29). The Terriers then added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth and got four innings of shutout relief from PL Rookie of the Year Kasey Ricard (20-2) to advance to the winner's bracket.

Junior Lauren Keleher went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, including an RBI triple in the fifth. Freshman Brooke Deppiesse was also 2-for-3, one of six Terriers to record a hit on Thursday.

PL Player of the Year Kayla Roncin drove in what proved to be the winning run in the third, while graduate student Emily Gant also had an RBI. PL Pitcher of the Year Allison Boaz pitched the first 3+ innings and allowed just one run. Ricard struck out four in relief.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bucknell opened the scoring in the top of the second thanks to a two-out double and an RBI single.
• BU finally broke through with a two-out rally in the bottom of the third. Graduate student Nicole Amodio began the frame with a walk and then was sacrificed to second.
• Freshman Aimee Metz pinch ran for Amodio and scored two batters later after a Keleher single to center. Roncin then singled to right to plate her classmate and reached home herself on senior Caitlin Coker's RBI single.
• Ricard replaced Boaz with two on and nobody out in the top of the fourth. After a sacrifice bunt and a walk, Ricard struck out the final two hitters of the frame to keep BU ahead by two. The final strikeout came after a 10-pitch at-bat.
• The Terriers tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a Keleher RBI triple and a Gant RBI single.
• Ricard ran into her first trouble of the day with two outs in the top of the sixth, as Bucknell had runners on the corners, but she induced a grounder to short to get out of the jam.
• Bucknell then threatened again with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Ricard once again got out of trouble, with a pop-up to third ending the game.

• With her two-out RBI single, Roncin broke Patriot League records for hits (86) and total bases (134).
• The Terriers improved to 20-4 all-time in the Patriot League tournament with the win.
• This was the Terriers' 11th straight victory over Bucknell.
• BU has recorded an extra-base hit in each of its last 13 games.
• The Bison left 10 runners on base.
• BU has struck out just once in each of its last two games.

• BU will return to action on Friday when the Terriers face No. 2 seed Lehigh at 11 a.m.
• The Mountain Hawks advanced to the winner's bracket with an identical 5-1 win over Army West Point, who will face Bucknell at 1:30 p.m. in the tournament's first elimination game.