STONY BROOK, N.Y. - Just hours after rallying from a 3-0 deficit with four outs remaining for a 4-3 extra-inning win over Albany, Boston University scored six more late-inning runs to down top-seeded Stony Brook 6-1 and advance to the championship round of the 2009 America East Softball Championship Friday at University Field.
The Great Danes rebounded in the final game of the day as senior Megan Butsch had three hits and scored as many runs in a 5-1 elimination game victory over UMBC. Albany will face Stony Brook in the losers bracket final Saturday at 12 noon, while The Terriers will await the winner of that contest for the title tilt at 2:30 p.m. If Boston U. loses, the championship will be decided Sunday morning at a time to be announced.
In the first game, senior Nora Militz delivered a game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning to complete a four-run comeback and give No. 2 Boston University a 4-3 win over No. 3 Albany in the second game of the 2009 America East Softball Championship Friday morning at University Field. The Terriers will face No. 1 Stony Brook in the final of the winners' bracket at 1:30 p.m. Albany will take on No. 4 UMBC in an elimination game at 4 p.m.
In the first game, Albany (37-15) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning as sophomore Gina Mason belted a leadoff home run to left center and junior Bailey Van Deest drove a two-out RBI single through the left side. The Great Danes extended their advantage to 3-0 in the fourth when junior Kat Smith, a first-team all-conference catcher, smashed a curve ball into the visitor's bullpen in left.
Second-seeded Boston University (40-16) began its comeback in the fifth as junior Rachel Hebert finished a 10-pitch at bat with a lined single to right and came around to score on an error by UA's center fielder. Senior Nora Militz, a first-team all-league choice, kick started another two-rally in the sixth with a line drive base hit to right. She was brought home on senior Brooke Hudson's second homer of the season, which knotted the score at 3-3.
Senior Melissa Dubay led off the home half of the eighth with a base hit through the middle and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Militz followed by driving an 0-1 fast ball off the fence in the right center to give the Terriers the 4-3 win.
The second game was scoreless entering the fifth sophomore April Setterlund led off with a bloop single to center. Pinch runner Emily Casacci stole second and after a Christy Leath walk, scored on an RBI single by Militz. Leath would later score on an error to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead.
Stony Brook (36-13) cut the deficit to one in the home half of the fifth on an RBI double by junior Vicki Kavitsky. But, the Terriers added two more in the sixth on RBI singles by Dubay and Leath to go up 4-1 and two more in the seventh on a two-run single by senior Shayne Lotito to take a 6-1 lead. Junior Cassidi Hardy picked up both wins with a pair of complete-game efforts and leads the league with 24 victories on the season.
UMBC (34-21) drew first blood in the day's third game when sophomore Lauren Brummel's single drove home Krista Kearns and put the Retrievers up 1-0. But Butsch, the Co-Player of the Year, drove a lined shot just over the fence in left to tie the score at one apiece.
That score held until the fifth when Butsch led off with a double and scored on a fielder's choice. The Great Danes, who set a program-record for wins in a season, added two more in the frame and plated a single run in the sixth. Marissa Powell made the score hold allowing just one run on four hits in a complete-game performance.