BOSTON – Extending its home unbeaten streak to 38 games, the No. 21/22 nationally-ranked Boston University softball team repeated as Patriot League champion with a 1-0 eight-inning victory over Lehigh on Saturday afternoon at BU Softball Field.
 
Now winners of five of the past six Patriot League titles, the Terriers (52-4-1) earned the lone run in the top of the eighth when sophomore Brooke Deppiesse hit a lead-off double, advanced to third on a ground out and scored off a two-out fielding error. With the program's first extra-inning postseason victory since 2014, BU completed the conference regular season and tournament title sweep for the fifth time under head coach Ashley Waters and 10th overall.
 
Graduate student Allison Boaz pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings before tournament MVP Kasey Ricard (27-3) entered in relief and retired all five batters she faced while striking out the final four. Their performances in the circle helped BU extend its NCAA leading shutout total to 28 contests, as the Mountain Hawks (32-20) were unable to advance a runner past second.

Deppiesse, graduate student Audrey Sellers and senior Lauren Nett joined Ricard on the PL All-Tournament Team with Sellers and Nett earning their second career nods. Ricard became just the second BU pitcher in seven successful PL tournament campaigns to earn MVP recognition, joining Melanie Russell ('16). 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In a contest featuring a combined 16 runners stranded on base, the Terriers had the first quality chance to get on the scoreboard in the second when Deppiesse earned a lead-off walk, took second on graduate student Lizzy Avery's sac bunt and moved to third on Nett's single.
• Lehigh's Katelyn Young though earned back-to-back swinging strikeouts to keep the game scoreless.
• The Mountain Hawks applied pressure of their own in the botton half following a one-out single and two-out walk before Boaz earned a strikeout
• Deppiesse started the fourth with a lead-off single and took second on Avery's second sac bunt but was thrown out at home trying to score on Nett's single.
• The Terriers later loaded the bases on back-to-back two-out walks before grounding out to second.
• Lehigh opened the bottom of the fifth with a single and added a one-out single to put two on against Boaz, who drew a pair of force outs.
• Julia Mrochko led off again with a single but Boaz and Ricard combined for two of three strikeouts to send the contest to extra innings.
• Deppiesse launched a 1-1 pitch to center with one out for the double in the top of the eighth before taking third on Avery's grounder and scoring on an error influenced by Nett driving a hard grounder toward second.
• Ricard sealed the shutout by striking out the side on a swing and a miss.

GAME NOTES

• The Terriers tied last year's program and PL record for wins in a season at 52. They are just one shy of the record for victories by a program located in the Northeast after UMass went 53-13 in 2002.
• BU posted two shutouts in the PL tournament for the first time since 2018 and allowed just two runs in a successful conference tournament run for the first time since accomplishing the feat in 2002 as a member of the America East with Vermont serving as host.
• BU went extra innings in the PL tournament for the first time since edging Bucknell, 4-3 (8), in the 2014 opener at Lehigh.

UP NEXT

• BU will learn its NCAA regional destination during the selection show set to air Sunday (May 12) on both ESPN2 and ESPN+ starting at 7 p.m.
• Featuring 64 squads, the NCAA tournament will get underway with the regionals taking place on May 17-19 at one of 16 destinations.