No. 3 Army Set Back by No. 2 BU in Tourney Opener

Thursday, May 11

Bethlehem, Pa.

2:30 PM

Army West Point

35-20

Boston U.

24-25

Army

Boston University

No. 3 Army Set Back by No. 2 BU in Tourney Opener

May 11, 2017 | Softball

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The third-seeded Army West Point softball team dropped its opening game of the Patriot League tournament, 6-1, to No. 2 Boston University Thursday afternoon at Lehigh's Leadership Park.

The Black Knights fell to 35-20 on the season, while the Terriers improved to 24-25 overall.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Black Knights dropped to 8-6 in the all-time series against Boston U. and 4-0 in the Patriot League tournament.
Rookie Emily Ballesteros slapped her 10th double of the year, tying Lacey Swafford for the team lead.
The hit was also her 15th extra-base hit of her first collegiate season.
Kennedy Harrison's seventh multi-hit game gave her 30 hits in 2017.
Senior co-captain Alee Rashenskas tied for ninth in program history with the 95th run batted in of her career.
Rashenskas moved in to sole possession of fourth place in Army's record books with her 221st-career hit.

LINEUP BREAKDOWN
Rashenskas (2B): 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI
Swafford (LF): 1-for-4
Yoo (CF): 0-for-3
Ontiveros (1B): 0-for-2 with a walk
Ballesteros (3B): 1-for-3 with a double
Harrison (DP/SS): 2-for-3

McKinney (PR): One run scored

Trotter (RF): 1-for-3
Esparza-Gallegos (SS): 0-for-2

Hartman (PH/DP): 0-for-1

Kim (C): 0-for-3

Poirier (P): 3.2 innings, seven hits, five runs (two earned), two walks and 0 strikeouts
West (P): 2.1 innings, three hits, one run (earned), 0 walks and 0 strikeouts

FACTS & FIGURES

The Black Knights tallied one run on six hits and committed one error, while Boston U. plated six runs with 10 hits and had no errors defensively.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both pitchers cruised through the first inning with the Terriers earning the game's first two base runners.
Army threatened in the second as Emily Ballesteros slapped a double down the left field line. Kennedy Harrison followed that up with a single two pitches later, but the Terriers came up with a pair of defensive stops to get out of the inning unscathed.
The Black Knights continued that offensive production in the following frame after a quick 1-2-3 inning defensively. Alee Rashenskas started the rally with a one-out walk, followed by a single by Lacey Swafford. Rookie Katie Ontiveros earned a two-out walk to load the bases before BU escaped unscathed once again.
Boston opened the scoring in the third inning with two runs on three hits. The scoring began with an RBI single from Gabi Martinez that scored Moriah Connolly. Martinez scored on the next pitch on an infield single to give the Terriers the 2-0 advantage.
Army broke through in the fourth inning as it managed to manufacture its first run of the game.
Back-to-back hits by Harrison and Amelia Trotter kicked off the frame with senior Tyler McKinney making the 130th appearance of her career for the Black and Gold as a pinch runner for Harrison. A fly out to deep right field allowed both runners to advance before Rashenskas beat out a slow dribbler to short. The infield hit plated McKinney from third.
The Terriers' bats woke up after that point, however, as they tallied three runs in the bottom of the inning and one more in the sixth frame.