FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the second consecutive season, the No. 23 nationally-ranked Boston University softball team started a new campaign with a pair of shutouts, earning a 6-0 win over LIU and 3-0 victory against Boston College Friday afternoon at the FGCU Kickoff Classic.

Freshman Danika Nell (1-0) and junior Kasey Ricard (1-0) both had eight strikeouts apiece against a combined five hits allowed, while the offense totaled 13 hits with just three strikeouts to hand both the Sharks (0-1) and Eagles (1-1) their first losses of the season.

In the first contest, sophomore Kyomi Apalit collected a couple of singles, including the go-ahead RBI hit in the second inning, and freshman Addie Lucier delivered an RBI off a fourth-inning single and sixth-inning bases-loaded walk. Sophomore Sophie Naivar broke open the scoreless deadlock with BC in the fourth on a two-out RBI single before classmate Kylie Dohertry tripled home junior Brooke Deppiesse and scored on freshman Biz Baglieri's sac fly in the sixth.

GAME 1: #23/RV BU - 6, LIU - 0

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Freshman Camryn Lyons delivered BU's first hit of the season with a one-out double in the top of the first but ended up stranded at third.
• Nell began her NCAA debut earning back-to-back strikeouts and stranded a Shark at second following walk, stolen base and foul out to first.
• Sophomore Libby Walsh led off the second with a single, took second on junior Aimee Metz's single down the left field line and scored on Apalit's RBI single up the middle for the 1-0 lead.
• After leaving the bases loaded to end the second and lining into a double play in the third, the Terriers added another run the following inning with Apalit singling to left and scoring on freshman Addie Lucier's RBI single.
• BU broke open the game during the sixth with four runs off two hits, two walks and Lyons' hit-by-pitch.
• Lucier drew one of those walks for her second RBI, junior transfer Megan Coyle singled to center for her first RBI as a Terrier and Deppiesse plated the final run on an RBI grounder.
• LIU tried to mount a rally in the bottom half on a pair of walks, but Nell ended the threat on a swinging strikeout.
• The Sharks again had two on base in the seventh on a lead-off single and walk before hitting a ground out to short and striking out twice for the shutout loss.

GAME 2: #23/RV BU - 3, BC - 0

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ricard started off with a pair of swinging strikeouts and pitched 5.1 perfect innings before the Eagles broke up the no-hit bid on a one-out pinch-hit bunt single.
• The Terriers had an opportunity to strike first in the bottom of the first with a lead-off hit-by-pitch and walk, but the Eagles earned a pair of fly outs and a ground out.
• Deppiesse broke up BC's own no-hit bid in the bottom of the fourth with a lead-off double and eventually scored what proved to be the game-winning run on Naivar's two-out pinch-hit single up the middle.
• Trying to score the equalizer, the Eagles swiped second in the sixth following the successful one-out bunt single and swinging strikeout, but Ricard maintained the 1-0 advantage by earning a foul out to left.
• BU added two insurance runs in the bottom half thanks to a hit, walk, hit-by-pitch and sac fly.
• Deppiesse started things off by earning a walk and scoring on Doherty's RBI triple to right.
• Freshman Biz Baglieri later drove a pitch to center to plate Doherty with one out for the 3-0 lead.
• BC tried to challenge Ricard again in the seventh with a lead-off single to right and two-out single to center, but she sealed the shutout victory on a swinging strikeout.

GAME NOTES

• Four of the eight Terriers who earned at least one RBI were newcomers to the team with Lucier leading the way with a two-RBI performance in game one.
• Sophomore Livia Christopher became the first catcher to sit behind home plate for BU after Audrey Sellers ('24) caught every pitch each of the last two seasons.
• Nell was the first BU freshman to start in the season opener since Ali DuBois ('21) earned the nod in 2018.
• The Terriers totaled three extra-base hits with two doubles and a triple while limiting their two opponents to five combined singles.
• BU entered a season nationally ranked by D1Softball for the first time.
• During the seven-game win streak over BC, BU has claimed three shutouts. 

UP NEXT

• BU will compete in a second doubleheader on Saturday (Feb. 8) with a 5 p.m. first pitch against Indiana State and then 7:30 p.m. start against host FGCU.
• The Terriers won the lone meeting with the Sycamores in 2007 and dropped the lone contest against the Eagles in 2015.