No. 25 Terriers Continue Historic Season with First-Ever NCAA Run-Rule Victory over NC Central, 8-0

Saturday, May 20

Athens, GA

4 PM

Boston University

52-9

NC Central (Athens Regional Elimination Game 1)

19-35

NC Central

Boston U.

Photo by: Matt Woolverton

No. 25 Terriers Continue Historic Season with First-Ever NCAA Run-Rule Victory over NC Central, 8-0

May 20, 2023 | Softball

Box Score Box Score Coach Waters, Amodio & Keleher Postgame NCAA Tournament Central

ATHENS, Ga. – Boosted by 14 hits and a strong pitching performance from senior Allison Boaz, the 25th-ranked and Patriot League champion Boston University softball team remained alive in the Athens Regional with an 8-0 (6) romp over MEAC champion North Carolina Central University on Saturday afternoon at Georgia's Jack Turner Stadium.

With its first-ever run-rule decision in NCAA play, BU improves to 52-10, as six Terriers collected multiple hits. Senior Caitlin Coker went a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI and run scored, while junior Kayla Roncin finished 2-for-3 alongside a game-high two RBIs to set a program record at 55 RBIs on the year.

In the circle, Boaz (25-5) held the Eagles (19-35) to just two hits while totaling seven strikeouts against two walks. Her ninth solo shutout helped the Terriers claim their first NCAA tournament win since an 8-3 victory against American Athletic Conference champion Louisville in 2014 and their fourth-ever NCAA clean sheet with BU last accomplishing the feat against Auburn (5-0) in 2009.

The Terriers have a quick turnaround and will face No. 24 Virginia Tech with an NCAA Regional Final berth on the line at approximately 6:20 p.m. with both the ACC Network and ESPN+ broadcasting Friday's rematch that saw the Hokies prevail, 6-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Roncin hit a one-out single in the bottom of the first but was caught stealing in a bang-bang play at second before Coker added a two-out single.
The Eagles earned a lead-off single in the third but were picked off at first by senior Audrey Sellers after leaning too far away from the bag.
Coker started the fourth with a lead-off triple to extend her NCAA lead to 12 triples on the season and set up junior Lauren Nett's RBI grounder.
Freshman Brooke Deppiesse hit a two-out infield single and took third on junior Kate Pryor's double before NCCU ended the threat on a ground out.
After Boaz struck out the side in the top of the fifth, BU pulled away with four runs off six hits during the bottom half.
Sellers started off with a single and took second on junior Lauren Keleher's single before scoring on Roncin's RBI single that led to a throwing error from the Eagles and 3-0 lead.
Coker added an RBI single, and Deppiesse added an RBI double to grab a 5-0 advantage.
NCCU earned a one-out single in the sixth before Boax earned a pair of ground outs.
Pryor tripled to right center to start the bottom half and scored on a wild pitch.
Amodio's ensuing walk and Sellers' single led to two more runs for the Terriers, as junior pinch runner Raegan Kelly scored on a passed ball and Sellers reached home on Roncin's walk-off RBI sac fly.

GAME NOTES

Eighth-year head coach Ashley Waters earned her 271st career victory, tying Shawn Rychick (2005-12) for the program record.
The two-time PL Pitcher of the Year Boaz moved to fifth in the program season record book at 25 wins and tied-for-seventh at nine shutouts.
BU's 14 hits were the second most on the year behind the 16 tallied at Fairfield in a 9-0( 5) win.
BU's run-rule victory was the second in PL history with Lehigh the last to accomplish the feat with a 9-0 (5) win over Florida A&M in 2009. It was also the fifth-ever shutout following the Mountain Hawks' 3-0 win over Central Arkansas in 2015 with Army the other school to claim a clean sheet behind a 2-0 victory over Utah in 2002.