May 7, 2008

Live Stats | Game Notes

BOSTON - The second-seeded Boston University softball team will take on No. 3 Stony Brook on Thursday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. in Albany, N.Y. in the opening round of the 2008 America East Championship. The Terriers enter with a 29-21 overall record, while the Seawolves are 30-21-1 on the season. BU is 36-21 all-time in the tournament and has claimed the post-season title six times.

THE TERRIERS: The Terriers enter this weekend's tournament looking to snap a four-game skid that culminated with a series sweep by top-seeded Albany.

BU is led offensively by freshman outfielder April Setterlund and junior shortstop Melissa Dubay with .363 and .359 batting averages, respectively. Junior outfielder Shayne Lotito is also above .300, hitting at a .311 clip. Lotito has also stolen a team-high 18 bases in 2008.

As a team, BU is averaging a conference-high .268 in the batter's box, while the pitching staff is holding opponents' offenses to a .241 batting average.

The Terriers' defense has also been solid, as they rank at the top of the league in fielding percentage (.972).

AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT HISTORY: This season is the ninth consecutive tournament appearance for the Terriers, as they hold a 36-21 mark in the America East Championship and have advanced to the title game in 12 of the last 16 years. The Terriers have clinched the tournament title six times (1992, `93, `96, `97, `02 and `03) and advanced to the NCAA tournament in 1996, 2002 and 2003. As a No. 2 seed, BU is 9-7 all-time and has won one conference championship (1996).

SERIES VS. STONY BROOK: BU leads the all-time series with the Seawolves, 15-10 (.600). In post-season play, the Terriers and Seawolves are an even 2-2. BU's longest winning streak against SBU recently came to an end on May 6, after five straight victories. Stony Brook's longest win streak was three games, which it has accomplished twice in seven years.

SCOUTING THE FIELD:
No. 1 Albany The Great Danes clinched their third America East regular-season title with their three-game sweep of the Terriers last weekend. Albany (32-15, 16-5 AE) is led by Meagan Butsch with a .381 batting average, a conference high. She has hit seven over the fence and driven in 28 batters, while Michelle Connors is the team's RBI (29) and home run leader (8). Amber Maisonet has swiped a conference-high 25 bags this season and is second in the America East in batting (.372). In the circle, Leah McIntosh leads a trio of pitchers with a 15-5 record, 197 strikeouts and a league-best 1.65 ERA.

Albany's pitching staff owns the second-best - and tops in the tournament - ERA (2.46), while the offense leads the America East in slugging percentage (.409), triples (16), stolen bases (71).

No. 3 Stony Brook The Seawolves (30-21-1, 13-8 AE) dropped their regular-season finale to Vermont to pick up the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Marissa Fleury is the team's top batting, hitting at a .352 clip with 29 RBI, six home runs and 12 doubles. Right behind is Vicki Kavitsky with a .329 batting average and 26 RBI. Kelsi Fanelli has also been productive, driving in 29 runs, swiping 16 bags. In the circle, Alyssa Struzenberg owns a 21-8 record and 1.98 ERA, striking out a conference-best 223 batters.

As a team, Stony Brook is tied with the Terriers with a league-high .268 batting average, collecting 271 hits - an America East high.

No. 4 UMBC UMBC rounds out the field in the No. 4 slot with a 24-27 overall record and 12-9 mark in the conference. Ashley Grey is one of four Retrievers currently hitting above .300 with a .350 batting average. Amanda Fefel is next with a .327 average, followed by Kali Shirk (.308) and Dana Shepherd (.303). Gray is also the team leader in RBI (42) and home runs (10), and Shirk has stolen 20-of-24 bases.

UMBC is second in the conference in slugging percentage (.406), runs scored (201), hits (356) and lead the league in RBI (187) and home runs (39).

300 CLUB: Led by freshman April Setterlund (.363), three Terriers are currently batting above .300. Juniors Melissa Dubay (.359) and Shayne Lotito (.311) have also had productive season's in the batter's box. As a team, BU is batting a conference-high .268 on the season.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Terriers were an impressive 15-3 at BU Softball Field this past season, which included 11 straight victories to open their home schedule. It was BU's best home record since 2002 when the squad owned a 13-1 mark at the field.

IN THE CIRCLE: The Terriers' 2008 pitching duties have been delegated to three underclassmen, led by sophomore Cassidi Hardy whose name is already etched in school record books for career strikeouts (fifth, 358). Hardy owns a 2.31 ERA and 14-6 record, while sophomore Megan Currier, the 2007 America East Pitcher of the Year, has picked up nine wins and a 3.93 ERA. Freshman Kelley Engman has also seen significant time in the circle and has a collected six wins and a 3.30 ERA.

Overall, BU ranks fourth in the conference with a team ERA of 2.55.

ROCK-STEADY DEFENSE: Boston University's defense completes the well-rounded squad, as it ranks first in the America East and 21st in the nation in fielding percentage (.972). The Terriers have committed just 43 errors in 1,526 chances, while turning a conference-high 24 double plays - ranking fourth nationally in that category.

CATCH `EM IF YOU CAN: As they were in 2007, the Terriers have been aggressive along the base paths, stealing 67-of-82 bags. Junior Shayne Lotito has been a menace for opposing defenses, swiping 18-of-19 bases, and she is followed closely by freshman April Setterlund (14-of-18). CLEANING UP: Junior Melissa Dubay was given the responsibility as the clean-up hitter at the beginning of the season, and she has fulfilled that duty by hitting .359 and leading the Terriers in batting average throughout most of the season. She owns a team-high 31 RBI and with runners in scoring position she has batted .397 (25-of-63).

HIT STREAKS: Freshman April Setterlund is on a six-game hit streak entering this weekend's tournament, while junior Melissa Dubay owns the longest of the season - 20 games - that spanned from Feb. 29 to April 2. From Feb. 29 to April 3, Dubay successfully reached base in 22 consecutive games.

NCAA DIVISION I SELECTION SHOW: The 2008 NCAA Division I softball selection show will be aired on Sunday, May 11 on ESPNU at 10:00 p.m. Following the official announcement on ESPNU, ESPNEWS will televise a three to five-minute recap between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m.