BOSTON – Riding a 23-game unbeaten streak, the No. 21/22 nationally-ranked Boston University softball team will open the double-elimination Patriot League tournament against Army West Point on Thursday morning with a 10 a.m. start time. 

Due to weather conditions, the Boston College Softball Field will serve as host for day one of the tournament. After the top-seeded Terriers and No. 4 Black Knights face off, No. 2 Lehigh and No. 3 Bucknell will battle approximately 30 minutes afterwards. The first elimination game will follow afterwards. 

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Looking to repeat for the second time as a Patriot League member, BU is 68-30 overall in conference tournaments, having won 15 titles and finish runner-up eight times.
• BU is 22-4 all-time in the Patriot League tournament with 3-0 sweeps in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023. The Terriers won the first two games in 2017 before dropping a pair of one-run decisions at Lehigh in the championship round and then suffered the same fate at home in 2022 with a 1-0 loss and 5-1 defeat.
• The Terriers are making their 14th overall appearance as the No. 1 seed and sixth in the Patriot League after outscoring opponents by a margin of 15-4. They own a 32-10 mark in the slot with America East championship wins in 1993, 2002, 2003, 2010 and 2012. They finished runner-up in 2011 and went 0-2 in both 2001 and 2007.
• BU returns eight of the 10 starters from the final game last season with nine Terriers seeing action. Sophomore Kasey Ricard pitched the final four innings to help BU hold off Bucknell in the first game for a 5-1 win, and senior Allison Boaz pitched the final 14 innings, including a 2-0 shutout victory over Army.
• Graduate student Caitlin Coker claimed Tournament MVP honors after batting .700 (7-for-10) with two RBIs and three runs scored. Senior Lauren Keleher, Boaz and graduate student Audrey Sellers were named to the team.

TERRIER TIDBITS

• Led by five-time PL Coach of the Year Ashley Waters, BU earned claimed three other major awards, starting with its seventh straight Player of the Year honor. In fact, the top three batters have combined for the last four.
• BU went 18-0 in conference play to become the first time since 2005 to go undefeated in the PL, though six of the contests were decided by eight combined runs.
• Named 2024 Player of the Year, Keleher ranks seventh nationally with two-time PL Defensive Player of the Year Coker at 76 hits, five behind No. 2 leader Kayla Roncin (81), who set a program and PL record last season at 92 hits.
• After Boaz (17-1, 1.48 ERA) received her second and BU's fifth straight Pitcher of the Year honor last May, Ricard (24-3, 1.26 ERA) claimed the prize this year with the nation's most shutouts (14) and third most strikeouts (241) in 189.0 innings of work.
• Senior Lizzy Avery (8-0, 1.09 ERA) is the reigning PL Pitcher of the Week after collecting a pair of wins over Lehigh. Sophomore Brooke Deppiesse (.369) batted .500 in the four contests to earn PL Player of the Week recognition for the second time.
• Overall, the Terriers have earned 18 weekly awards with Avery claiming three with two pitching honors and a player award. She's batting .338 with a team-high 33 walks for a .466 on-base percentage, just behind Keleher (.491).
• The Terriers are batting .330 and holding opponents to .169 with an 82-28 advantage in doubles and 19-3 lead in triples. They've claimed 35 homers, sixth most in program history and most since the 2012 squad went yard 38 times.

2024 Patriot League Softball Championship Schedule
Game times are subject to change

Thursday, May 9 | Boston College Softball Field
Game #1: #1 Boston University vs. #4 Army West Point - 10 a.m.
Game #2: #2 Lehigh vs. #3 Bucknell – 30 minutes after the conclusion of game 1.
Game #3: Loser of Game #1 vs. Loser of Game #2 – 30 minutes after the conclusion of game 2.
 
Friday, May 10 | TBD
Game #4 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, TBD
Game #5 – Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3, TBD
 
Saturday, May 11 | TBD
Game #6 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, Noon
Game #7 – Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6 (if necessary), 2:30 p.m.