DUKE INVITATIONAL (GAMES 11-14) INFORMATION
Teams: #25/RV BU, #6/8 Duke, Michigan State, Villanova, Elon
Dates: Friday, Feb. 23 - Saturday, Feb. 24
Venue: Durham, N.C. | Duke Softball Stadium
Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierSoftball

BOSTON – Ranked No. 25 in the latest D1Softball poll while receiving votes in the other three mainstream polls, the Boston University softball team will put its unbeaten record on the line against four opponents at the Duke Invitational. 

The Terriers will start off against Big 10 member Michigan State on Friday (Feb. 23) at 2:30 p.m. with the second contest set for 5 p.m. against Big East preseason favorite Villanova. BU will follow up on Saturday (Feb.  24) at 12 p.m. against Elon and then the host Blue Devils, ranked as high as No. 6 nationally, with a 5 p.m. start time. 

TERRIER TIDBITS

• BU is 10-0 to start a season for the first time in program history, surpassing the 8-0 start in 2020.
• The Terriers are entering a tournament in February nationally ranked for the first time. They were last ranked No. 25 by the NFCA entering both the Patriot League tournament and NCAA regionals.
• BU will face two Power 5 schools after collecting five total wins last season, including two against the Big Ten's Penn State along with wins over the ACC's Georgia Tech and Boston College. The Terriers fell twice to then-No. 23 Virginia Tech from the ACC during the 2023 NCAA Athens Regionals.
• The Terriers will seek their first win against a nationally-ranked opponent since shutting out then-No. 12 Baylor last year. BU has one top-10 win under head coach Ashley Waters with a 5-4 victory over then-No. 1 Oklahoma in 2018.
• Graduate student Lizzy Avery leads BU in batting average at .545  with eight RBIs and on Monday became the fourth Terrier in program history to earn both a Player and Pitcher of the Week award from a conference. She delivered a walk-off two-out, two-RBI single against Queens and a two-RBI hit at Charlotte as well.
• Previously named PL Player of the Week, senior Lauren Keleher is batting .543 with a team-high three homers, five doubles and 12 RBIs despite hitting lead-off. She's tied with classmate Kayla Roncin (.425) at 12 runs apiece with graduate student Caitlin Coker close behind at 11 runs scored.
• Named the national Pitcher of the Week by the NFCA and D1Softball, sophomore Kasey Ricard (5-0, 0.62 ERA) has posted 47 strikeouts in 33.2 innings of work to help the Terriers enter the week tied-for-first nationally at six shutouts.
• Graduate student Allison Boaz (3-0, 1.14 ERA) has tallied 22 strikeouts in 24.2 innings, while Avery (2-0, 4.85 ERA) has six strikeouts in 8.2 innings.
• BU is batting .340 and holding opponents to .167 with a 25-7 advantage in extra-base hits and 10-3 lead in stolen bases.

SCOUTING OPPONENTS

Michigan State, 4-6 (Friday, 2:30 p.m.)

• The Spartans are currently 4-6 after going 14-32 a year prior.
• MSU started off 0-5 with 6-5 loss to then-No. 12 Arkansas and 1-0 loss to Marshall in Florida. The Spartans then earned a 4-1 mark in Texas with an 8-5 win over Boise State, a squad receiving votes in multiple polls, alongside a 4-3 loss to the Broncos.
• Hannah Hawley is batting a team-high .419, while Jaeya Butler is hitting .400. Britain Beshears (.333 avg) owns a team-high five homers and 12 RBIs.
• Liv Grey (2-3, 3.07 ERA) owns 33 strikeouts in 27.1 innings, and Faith Guidry (1-2, 3.50 ERA) has seven strikeouts in 12.0 innings.
• Overall, the Spartans are hitting .294 and holding opponents to .257 with a 28-17 advantage in extra base hits, including 16-7 lead in homers.
• MSU leads the all-time series, 7-6, after BU earned a 3-0 victory in Florida in 2018 and dropped a 4-3 decision in 2016.

Villanova, 3-5 (Friday, 5 p.m.)

• The Big East preseason favorite Wildcats are currently 3-5 after going 37-22 a year prior with a runner-up finish in their conference tournament.
• Villanova started the year with a split against tournament host Georgia Tech (5-2, 2-3) and Longwood (5-1, 5-6) alongside a 3-0 loss to then-No. 11 Alabama. This past weekend, the Wildcats recorded another split against George Mason (10-7, 6-5) with an 8-5 loss to James Madison.
• Lilly St. Jean is batting a team-high .350, just ahead of Tess Cites (.346). Both players own one homer and five RBIs apiece, while Ally Jones (.261) has a team-high six RBIs.
• Caroline Pellicano (1-2, 2.45 ERA) has totaled 12 strikeouts in 20.0 innings, while Kat Gallant (1-2, 5.46 ERA) has 15 strikeouts in 16.2 innings.
• Villanova is hitting .233 and holding teams to .259 with a 10-4 lead in homers.
• The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 5-1, with all six meetings taking place in Florida. Villanova won the last meeting in 2014, 5-3, and BU last won in 2010 by an identical score.

Elon, 4-6 (Saturday, 12 p.m.)

• The Phoenix are currently 4-6 after going 22-26 a year prior. 
• Elon owns a pair of wins over Kent State with a split against North Dakota State (7-5, 7-8). The Phoenix most recently fell twice at NC State by a combined score of 13-6.
• Mauri Murray is batting .429 with four homers and 12 RBIs, while Allee Seering (.273) owns two homers alongside 11 RBIs.
• In the circle, McKenna McCard (1-1, 4.82 ERA) has totaled 12 strikeouts in 18.2 innings, while Meredith Wells (0-2, 15.15 ERA) has eight strikeouts in 13.2 innings.
• Elon is batting .231 and holding opponents to .334 with a 5-1 advantage in triples.
• The teams are meeting for the first time in program history.

#6/8 Duke, 8-1 (Saturday, 5 p.m.)

• The Blue Devils are 8-1 after reaching the Super Regionals last year and finishing with a 48-12 record.
• Duke most recently dispatched Army West Point in a pair of 8-0 run-rule decisions and has allowed just two runs over the last seven games with 4-1 win against Rutgers and 6-1 victory over then-No. 18 Nebraska. The lone loss was a season-opening 3-0 defeat to defending national champion Oklahoma, 3-0.
• Kelly Torres is batting .500 with seven RBIs, while Claire Davidson (.481) and Aminah Vega (.433) and Ana Gold (.360) all own 14 RBIs apiece.
• Jala Wright (3-0, 0.79 ERA) has tallied 19 strikeouts in 17.2 innings of work, while Dani Drogemuller (2-0, 1.58 ERA) has recorded nine strikeouts in 13.1 innings.
• Duke is batting .358 and holding opponents to .161 with a 28-7 advantage in extra-base hits and 16-4 lead in stolen bases.
• BU won the lone meeting in Duke's first year as a varsity program in 2018, 7-4 (8), in a neutral meeting in Florida.

UP NEXT

• The Terriers will take a week off and then head to Conway, South Carolina, to compete at the Beach Chicken Brawl hosted by Coastal Carolina on March 8-10.
• BU will face Ohio, George Mason and Coastal Carolina two times apiece.