BOSTON – Riding a five-game win streak, the No. 2-seeded Boston University softball team will open the double-elimination Patriot League tournament against No. 3 Lehigh on Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Host and regular season champion Army West Point will face No. 4 Bucknell in the first matchup at 11 a.m. 

Fans should take note that due to inclement weather forecasted for Friday, the PL tournament has shifted to a Thursday, Saturday and Sunday schedule.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Looking to three-peat for the second time as a Patriot League member after prevailing in 2018, 2019 and 2021, BU is 71-30 overall in conference tournaments, having won 16 titles and finish runner-up eight times.
• BU is 25-4 all-time in the Patriot League tournament with 3-0 sweeps in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024. 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 to the Mountain Hawks.
• The Terriers are making their ninth overall appearance as the No. 2 seed and third in the Patriot League, highlighted by a championship in 2014 at Lehigh. They own a 17-10 mark in the slot with America East championship wins in 1996 and 2009. They finished runner-up in 1994, 1995 and 2017.
• BU returns just two starters and three Terriers in total who saw action in last May's thrilling 1-0 (8) title victory over Lehigh. After winning the first two games of the tournament, junior Kasey Ricard pitched the final 1.2 innings with four strikeouts and zero hits allowed to earn Tournament MVP honors. 
• Junior Brooke Deppiesse went 2-for-3 with a walk and the lone run scored, while sophomore Kylie Doherty drew a walk as a pinch-hitter and moved to right field.

TERRIER TIDBITS

• Led by five-time PL Coach of the Year Ashley Waters, BU earned 36+ victories with 14+ conference wins for the seventh straight season.
• BU swept the Bison (road), Colgate (home), Holy Cross (road) and Lafayette (home) but then went 1-2 against both the Black Knights (home) and Mountain Hawks (away) during the regular season to finish two games behind Army and one ahead of Lehigh in the standings.
• BU led all schools with five All-PL First Team honorees with now two-time PL Pitcher of the Year Kasey Ricard (24-10, 2.03 ERA) earning her third overall award for her performance in the circle. She has pitched an NCAA-leading 224.2 innings and is just 11 away from setting a program record while ranking third nationally at 24 wins and 13th at 212 strikeouts.
• Freshman Danika Nell (7-1, 3.25 ERA) missed all of March due to injury but has started to find her form, pitching shutouts against Harvard and Lafayette over the last couple of weeks while holding the Mountain Hawks to one run in 4.1 innings of work. Classmate Ava Johnson (4-3, 3.25 ERA) has seen the third most amount of action at 32.1 innings. The two have combined for 96 strikeouts in 105.2 innings.
• At the plate, junior and 2025 PL Defensive Player of the Year Brooke Deppiesse is batting a team-high .416 with a .975 fielding percentage primarily playing at second. Both she and sophomore outfielder Kylie Doherty (.365) are tied-for-39th nationally at 54 runs scored with Doherty delivering 13 homers, one shy of tying the program record. 
• Also named All-PL First Team honorees, sophomore Libby Walsh is batting .348, while junior Megan Coyle is hitting .323 with 51 RBIs, five away from tying the PL record.
• Other Terriers who have earned 30+ starts include freshman Camryn Lyons (.287), sophomore Kyomi Apalit (.276), sophomore Livia Christopher (.257) and freshman Addie Lucier (.240).
• The Terriers are batting .310 and holding opponents to .239 with an 66-55 advantage in doubles and 22-5 lead in triples. They've claimed 30 homers so far and have shown patience at the plate, drawing 170 walks against 100 allowed.

OPPONENT NOTES

• Army West Point (33-20, 16-2 PL) won its first regular season title since 2010 and will try to reach the NCAAs for the first time since 2013. Overall, the team is batting .312 and holding opponents to .239 with 23-16 advantage in homers.
• The Black Knights have nine total All-PL honorees, including PL Player of the Year Ashton White (.381, 5 HRs, 38 RBIs) alongside a pair of All-PL pitchers in Katelyn Flanders (11-3, 2.42 ERA) and Breanna Izzo (15-8, 2.99 ERA).
• Lehigh (28-22, 13-5 PL) will seek its first automatic NCAA berth since 2022. Overall, the team is batting .307 and holding opponents to .302 with a 32-11 deficit in homers.
• The Mountain Hawks are led by PL Rookie of the Year Kelly Fricker (.437, 26 RBIs, 16 2Bs) and fellow All-PL First Teamer Rory Dudley (.318, 5 HRs, 40 RBIs) with Chloe Hess (11-8, 3.43 ERA) leading the pitching staff.
• Bucknell (17-28, 8-10 PL) will try to reach the NCAAs for the first time since 2010. Overall the team is batting .252 and holding opponents to .323 with a 29-13 deficit in homers.
• The Bison are led by a pair of All-PL Second Team honorees in infielder Brooke Popella (.298, 3 HRs, 9 2Bs, 25 RBIs) and pitcher Savannah Jones (8-8, 2.91 ERA), who also happens to be hitting .266 with 19 RBIs.

2025 Patriot League Softball Tournament Schedule (***double-elimination format)
Game times are subject to change

Thursday, May 8, 2025
Game 1 – #1 Army West Point vs. #4 Bucknell – 11:00 am
Game 2 – #2 Boston University vs. #3 Lehigh – 1:30 pm

Saturday, May 10, 2025
Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 11:00 am
Game 4 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 1:30 pm
Game 5 – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 – 4:00 pm

Sunday, May 11, 2025
Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 – 10:00 am
Game 7 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary) – 12:30 pm