Softball travels to Boston U. Wednesday

Bryant softball looks for season split at Boston University

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Looking to avenge an earlier loss at home to Boston University, the Bryant University softball team hits the road Wednesday afternoon to battle the host Terriers at the BU Softball Field in Boston. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.

The afternoon affair marks the second game played between the squads this season, as the Terriers (20-11) picked up a 13-3 victory at the Bryant Softball Complex earlier this year against the Bulldogs (7-17), who recently wrapped up a 1-3 weekend against Northeast Conference opponents.

Last week, the Bulldogs went 2-3 with wins against Harvard (15-6) and Mount St. Mary's (5-2). Most recently, however, Bryant was swept on Sunday afternoon in a conference doubleheader against LIU Brooklyn. The Bulldogs stand at 1-3 in NEC play on the year.

Last Tuesday against Harvard, a nine-run inning helped the Bulldogs start the week off on a winning note. That offensively productive frame erased a two-score deficit against the Crimson, as Bryant capitalized on 13 walks issued by Harvard en route to a 15-6 victory at Soldiers Field.

Bryant's lone league win came against the Mountaineers in the second game played on Saturday afternoon. That match was called in the sixth inning due to darkness. In Game 1, both teams combined for 20 hits, but the visiting Mount used a seven-run eighth inning to hand the Bulldogs a loss in extra innings.

Rookie outfielder Madeline Velasquez (Los Angeles, Calif.) led all Bulldogs last week with 10 hits, six runs scored and four RBI over the five-game span. The California native subsequently wrestled the team lead in batting average (.414) away from stellar sophomore Aubrey Mable (Aurora, Colo.), who averages .397 from the dish this season while boasting a team-high 27 hits.

The Terriers return to action after going 1-2 in last weekend's series against America East foe Stony Brook. BU dropped the first two games of the series, 1-0, and 4-3, before defeating the Seawolves, 8-3, on Sunday afternoon.

Sophomore Jayme Mask leads the Terriers with a .367 batting average and 33 hits on the season while classmate Chelsea O'Connor and fellow sophomore Megan Volpano and just behind her with 32 hits each. Classmate Amy Ekart has knocked in the most runs for the Terriers with 20 RBIs off of 24 hits. She also leads the team with five home runs.

On the mound, sophomore Holli Floetker (12-3) has seen the most action with 103.0 innings pitched and a team-best 81 strikeouts. Juniors Whitney Tuthill (4-4) and Erin Schuppert (4-4) are both .500 on the season with ERAs of 2.60 and 3.63, respectively.