Courtesy: Boston University Athletic Communications
ATLANTA, Ga. - Backed by a solo home run from senior co-captain Brooke Hudson Athe second inning and two crucial runs in the sixth, the Boston University softball team (42-17) earned its first NCAA Regional victory in 13 years with a 3-1 triumph over Iowa (42-15) on Saturday night. Facing elimination, the Terriers knocked out Iowa from the double-elimination tournament and will now take on Auburn at 10:30 tomorrow morning.
Junior hurler Cassidi Hardy improved to 26-6 in the circle with four strikeouts, allowing one run on seven hits. With the win, the senior class became the program's all-time winningest class with 141 career victories.
Two crucial stolen bases in the sixth inning put senior Shayne Lotito and freshman Erica Casacci in scoring position and they scored on the next at-bat to give BU the three-run cushion. Lotito's run proved to be the game-winner as the Hawkeyes would score one in the seventh. The Terriers' defense took over from there, recording back-to-back outs to secure the victory.
Both teams remained scoreless through 1.5 innings as neither squad was able to advance a runner past second until Hudson smashed her third home run of the season into left field to put BU ahead, 1-0. Hudson has made it a habit of hitting clutch homers this year as her first was a grand slam against Vermont (April 26) and most recently she hit one over the fence against Albany (May 8) in the AE tourney to tie the game that the Terriers went on to win, 4-3.
In the fourth, BU's defense held strong, turning its 31st double play of the year as senior Melissa Dubay tagged second and threw to junior Rachel Hebert at first to end the frame. In the sixth, the Hawkeyes led off with a single into center field by Sam Heinzman and she advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Chelsey Carmody. On the next at-bat, a ground out to second base put her on third, but a fly out to right field ended the threat.
In the bottom of the sixth, Lotito led off with an infield hit and Casacci followed up with a bunt single to place runners on first and second with no outs. Two at-bats later Casacci and Lotito both stole second and third, respectively. The Terriers manufactured two more runs when Lotito made it home off a bunt from senior Christy Leath, and a throwing error at third base allowed Casacci to score.
The Hawkeyes made it interesting in the seventh as they scored one on a single down the left line and they stranded two base runners on the corners when Leath recorded the final out on a foul out.
It was the Terriers' first NCAA win since a 1-0 triumph over Massachusetts in 1996 and their second overall. Their first win came that same year - a 5-0 victory over Connecticut.