The subsequent cease on the Boston University Terriers “Revenge Tour” is Athens, Ga.
After lacking final season’s NCAA Division 1 softball match, the Terriers started the 2023 marketing campaign decided to avenge their misplaced alternative.
The Terriers rolled by means of a strong non-league slate and the Patriot League common season at a file tempo. The run culminated in a 2-0 victory over Army within the PL championship sport that secured an automated berth within the NCAA match.
“I think this team is really special,” stated Terriers third basewomen Caitlin Coker, after a spirited apply on Tuesday morning at BU Softball Field. “2021 was an ideal 12 months as a result of we received as nicely, however this complete 12 months our motto was the Revenge Tour as a result of we misplaced final 12 months.
“We are enjoying with a bit of little bit of a chip on our shoulders and that stored us hungry all season. It doesn’t matter who’s on the opposite facet of the sphere. We are simply frightened about us and attempting to get the job achieved.
“It has been our motto the whole season and we do not want anybody to count us out. We are a really strong and impressive program and that is what we are trying to show this year.”
The No. 25 ranked Terriers (51-8) have been awarded the No. 3 seed and can have interaction the No. 2 seed and twenty fourth ranked Virginia Tech Hokies (37-18) on Friday within the Athens Regional at Georgia’s Jack Turner Stadium
The No. 14 ranked Georgia Bulldogs (39-13) drew the highest seed and can face No. 4 North Carolina Central (19-33) within the double elimination format that’s speared over three days.
The Terriers’ 51 wins have been essentially the most by a crew from the Northeast since UMass received 53 in 2002. That breaks all the way down to 18-1 at dwelling, 21-3 on the street and 12-4 at a impartial web site. The earlier BU file was 43 wins. BU is making its twelfth journey to the NCAA match with a file of 7-22.
“It was an extraordinary year,” stated BU coach Ashley Watters, who’s in her eighth season on Commonwealth Avenue “When I imagined coming over right here and constructing this program and placing it again on prime, however I by no means imagined this feat being set.
“We challenged them in the season and put them up against the best. They answered the call all year and it is a highly talented team and a highly motivated team. All I can say is I am obviously impressed.”
Twenty instances two
BU is the nation’s fifth-ranked crew in fielding proportion (0.981) and that dedication to protection helped produced a rarity in Division 1 softball. BU enters the NCAA match with two hurlers with 20 or extra wins.
Lefty Allison Boaz, who shut out Army within the PL title sport, is 24-4 in 29 begins over with 174.1 innings pitched. She posted a 1.37 ERA with 155 strikeouts. Boaz is a management pitcher who retains the ball on the bottom and counts on the protection to make performs.
Freshman right-hander Kasey Ricard of Littleton, Mass., depends extra on her rise and fastball to get batters out. Ricard is 20-2 in 17 begins (37 appearances) with 144.2 innings pitched. She has a 1.69 ERA with 191 strikeouts and an opposing batting common of .174. Senior right-hander Lizzy Avery is 7-2 in 17 begins with a 1.78 ERA. The participant who retains the three of them sincere is catcher Audrey Sellers.
“We can’t do anything without her (Sellers) as the other part of the battery and she has caught nearly every game this season,” stated Boaz. “She’s consistent and dependable and makes our job so much easier.”
Triple menace
The most fun pay in softball is the triple. The three-base hit requires energy, foot pace and good judgement on the basepaths. Those attributes are mixed with an aggressive bent and a smattering of luck as a result of there’s normally a play on the bag or the plate with runners on.
BU tops Division 1 with 33 triples and Coker, a left hander from Downingtown, Pa., leads the nation with 11. Coker is the 2021 Patriot League Player of the Year and 2023 Defensive Player of the Year with only one error in her three years as a starter on the sizzling nook. Lauren Keleher is second on the crew with seven triples.
Changing gears
Kayla Roncin has received back-to-back Patriot League Player of the Year Awards (2022-23) since making the conversion from the outfield to shortstop. Roncin, a junior from Toms River, N.J., is the Terriers’ greatest shot for All-America honors this season.
Roncin is batting .429 with 88 hits, 55 runs, 9 homers, 4 triples, 13 doubles, 53 RBI and 136 whole bases.
“It took some time to be a shortstop,” stated Roncin. “It took extra reps and extra reps with coach and my teammates helped make the transition a lot easier.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com