The Terriers dugout celebrates against Illinois State at the USF-Rawlings Invitational in Tampa, Fla., on February 9. The Terriers have won five Patriot League championships since joining the conference in 2014. Photo by Apeiro Sports Photography

Athletics

Softball Team Hosts Lafayette April 8 in Patriot League Home Opener

Terriers looking to return to the top after losing first conference tournament in four years

The Boston University softball team knows they’re the best program in the Northeast. After winning three straight Patriot League titles from 2018 to 2021 (the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the pandemic), the Terriers lost their crown to Lehigh in last year’s tournament. This season, with a 28-7 record and an undefeated start to Patriot League play, the Terriers are ready to return to the top.

The Patriot League championship trophy has only called two places home since BU joined the conference in 2014: Boston and Bethlehem, Pa., where it currently resides with the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. 

Seemingly a two-horse race over the last decade, the two teams matched up again to decide the 2022 conference tournament champion, who would claim their fifth Patriot League title. But, unlike the previous three contests, Lehigh walked away victorious in two games with the trophy. 

“I think we are coming back to this season with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder,” says infielder Caitlin Coker (CAS’24, GRS’24). “The outcome wasn’t exactly what we wanted last year. So, I think we’re all just really excited to be able to make a statement this year and do what we came here to do and have fun on the field together. The potential is really limitless for us.”

This season, the team is narrowly the preseason favorite to reclaim the trophy, edging Lehigh by two first-place votes. To succeed in this mission, the Terriers are taking things one game at a time. 

“We obviously know that there’s a target on our back, and I think we’ve earned that,” says head coach Ashley Waters (Wheelock’22). “We’ve had a really good eight years, and I feel like we’ve found our way to be in that championship game. Our focus is one game at a time, we can’t bypass anybody and we can’t overlook anybody.” 

The team will open Patriot League home play Saturday, April 8, when they host Lafayette in a doubleheader at BU Softball Field, starting at noon. The two teams will also play each other Sunday starting at noon. The Terriers are 25-0 in program history against the Leopards.

Half of the 12-person All-Patriot League Preseason Team selections will wear scarlet and white this season, including defending Patriot League Pitcher of the Year Allison Boaz (ENG’23) and Patriot League Player of the Year Kayla Roncin (Sargent’24). Boaz and Roncin were tabbed to repeat as Pitcher and Player of the Year. 

“Ali’s a workhorse. She has this great poise on the mound. She shows up every single day, puts in the work, and she’s absolutely disgusting on the mound. It’s amazing to be able to play behind her,” Coker says. “I have the utmost confidence in her, and I know that she has the utmost confidence in her defenders.”

 Waters says the team will be relying heavily on Roncin this season.

“Kayla is phenomenal. She’s one of the best hitters to ever come through Boston University. I think the top of our order right now is really talented. Kayla seems to be the catalyst in that lineup, and at the end of the day, Kayla’s gonna be able to drive people in. Against UConn, she took care of it herself and just put one over the fence.” 

Thus far this season, Boaz is 13-4 with a 1.58 ERA in 97.2 innings. The Terriers pitching staff has a league-best 18 shutouts and leads Patriot League teams in ERA (1.60). Freshman Kasey Ricard (Sargent’26) is pacing the league with 115 strikeouts in 81.2 innings.

On the offensive side of the ball, there are few stats Roncin doesn’t lead in. She is slashing .466/.496/.695 with a 1.191 OPS (on-base plus slugging) and a league-best 31 RBI. Joining her on the leaderboards is Lauren Keleher, who is second in OPS (1.094) and coleads with 11 doubles.

In addition to leading the Patriot League with six triples, Coker is also one of the roster’s four captains. Joining her are the team’s two graduate students, Nicole Amodio (Sargent’23, SPH’23) and Emily Gant (Sargent’22, SPH’24), and senior Audrey Sellers (CAS’23, Sargent’23). 

“I think we all work really well together,” Coker says. “We all have different strengths and we all have different perspectives on the game. Additionally, I think we’re really good at being able to focus our team on one pitch at a time, one thought at a time and just focusing on the little things so that we can do the basics. It just gets us a little bit closer every single day to our goal.” 

Waters says she’s proud of the way her players support one another.

“It’s a family, we spend from September until May together almost every single day,” Waters says. “We have a slogan going right now, ‘Nobody but us,’ and I feel like it’s one of those pieces where there’s a camaraderie, there’s a closeness, there’s this willingness to want to do well for one another. There’s a willingness to want to celebrate others’ successes and I think when you have that, it creates a recipe for a really special team.” 

BU will travel to Chestnut Hill to face rival Boston College on Thursday, April 25. They’ll conclude their season with a three-game swing at Lehigh beginning May 6. 

“I think we get another chance this year, and I think we’re even more prepared this year to be able to get the job done,” Coker says. “I think it’s just a really exciting way to close out the season, and I have no doubt in my mind that we’re going to be able to do it on a high note.”

The Boston University softball team will face Lafayette in three games beginning Saturday, April 8, at 12 pm. Game two of the doubleheader will play at 2 pm, and the final game will occur on April 9 at 12 pm. Admission is free. All of this weekend’s games will stream live on ESPN+.