Boston University (26-11, 9-0 PL) vs. Kentucky (24-17, 6-9 SEC)
Date & Time: Friday DH, 1 & 3 p.m.
Venue: BU Softball Field | Boston, Mass.
X/Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierSoftball

BOSTON – Hosting an SEC team for the first time in program history with a 43-game home unbeaten streak on the line, the six-time defending Patriot League regular season champion Boston University softball team will welcome Kentucky to campus for a Friday afternoon doubleheader with first pitch set for 1 p.m.

The teams were originally scheduled to play each other twice over the weekend with another matchup against Sacred Heart slated for Saturday. However, due to expected inclement weather, BU and UK will now only play in a doubleheader on Friday with the Pioneers no longer making the drive.

A participant in each of the last 15 NCAA tournaments, the Wildcats represent the first SEC squad to visit the New England region since UMass hosted South Carolina as part of a multi-team event in May 1995. UK is also the first Power 4 conference member not named Boston College to visit BU.

TERRIER TIDBITS

• The Terriers are 42-0-1 over the last 43 home games, having last suffered defeat back on March 21, 2023, with a 2-1 loss to Yale as part of a doubleheader split. The lone tie was against Providence (1-1) with the second game of the DH called after seven innings due to darkness on April 23, 2024.
• BU is 5-0 this year with a DH sweep over Yale and PL series sweep against Colgate.
• With Wednesday's 2-1 victory at Boston College, 10th-year head coach Ashley Waters earned 350 career wins. Twenty-one of them have come against Power 4 conferences with the lone victory over the SEC occurring at then-No. 13 Georgia in 2022.
• BU is 0-2 this season against the SEC with both losses coming against then-No. 24/21 South Carolina during the Gamecocks' Garnet & Black Invitational back in February.
• Junior Brooke Deppiesse remains the team leader in batting average at .422 with 11 doubles and six triples alongside five homers.
• Sophomore Kylie Doherty (.372) launched her ninth homer of the season to help the Terriers defeat Boston College, 2-1, while moving into a tie-for-10th all-time at BU at 16 total. She just needs to go yard one more time to become only the 10th Terrier to earn double-digit homers in a season with Chiya Louie ('07) leading the way at 14 set in 2007.
• Junior Megan Coyle (.325) owns a 37-34 edge against Doherty in RBIs after hitting a game-tying two-out RBI double in the fifth inning at  BC. Sophomore Libby Walsh (.349) is the other regular starter batting over .300 with freshman Addie Lucier close behind at .287.
• In the circle, junior Kasey Ricard (18-7, 1.79 ERA) has totaled 155 strikeouts over 164.2 innings of work, the most innings for a pitcher nationally so far.
• Freshman Danika Nell (4-1, 3.53 ERA), freshman Ava Johnson (3-1, 2.52 ERA) and junior Haley Ganino (1-2. 4.30 ERA) have combined for the eight other victories with the whole staff totaling 10 shutouts.
• Overall, BU is batting .309 and holding opponents to .221 with a 24-12 advantage in homers.

SCOUTING KENTUCKY

• Though not currently ranked in a top-25 poll, the Wildcats currently sit at No. 31 in the RPI rankings, thanks in part to a SEC series sweep vs. Missouri (#36) and pair of wins at Georgia Tech (#29) by a combined score of 26-6.
• UK is 11-1 this season against teams with an RPI ranking of 100 or lower, while BU is 1-5 against top-100 squads with a 7-1 win over Radford (#89).
• Peyton Plotts leads the Wildcats in hitting at .355 with 12 doubles, eight homers and 38 RBIs, while Ally Hutchins (.333) owns a team-high 34 runs scored.
• McKenzie Bump (.325) and Allie Blum (.324) are the other two regular starters hitting over .300.
• In the circle, five Wildcats have earned at least five starts with Sarah Haendiges (9-4, 2.14 ERA) totaling 79 strikeouts in 72.0 innings of work. Alexia Lacatena (6-2, 2.32 ERA) has earned 38 strikeouts in 60.1 innings.
• Reaching 700 career wins earlier this season, head coach Rachel Lawson was an infielder at UMass from 1991-94. She only played the Terriers once in 1994 with BU earning a 10-5 road victory in 1994.
• Overall, UK is batting .290 and is holding teams to .240 with a 36-34 edge in homers and 14-6 lead in triples.

SERIES HISTORY

• BU and Kentucky will face off for the first time ever.
• The Terriers' last win against a Bluegrass State school was an 8-3 victory over then-American Athletic Conference champion Louisville in a 2014 NCAA regional elimination game.

LOOKING AHEAD

• BU will continue the eight-game homestand by hosting UConn on Tuesday (April 15) at 3:30 p.m.
• The Terriers have won the last eight meetings, highlighted by last year's DH sweep at UConn that featured a 6-3 victory and 1-0 (8) decision.
• BU won the last home meeting with a 1-0 victory back in 2023 thanks in part to Ricard's one-inning save.