Boston College Athletics
Minutewomen, Crimson on Slate for Midweek Action
April 17, 2012 | Softball
April 17, 2012
Chestnut Hill, Mass. – The Boston College softball team meets UMass on Shea Field Wednesday, April 18, before making a trip to take on Harvard on Thursday. The Eagles (20-18) then make their way to Florida State for an ACC series beginning on Saturday. The games can be followed live via the team’s official Twitter account @BC_Softball.
LAST TIME OUT
The Eagles won the first of a three-game series against Virginia Tech, 5-4, but were dealt tough losses by the Hokies in the final two editions, 12-8, 8-5. The series opening win was the first victory at home over Tech since 2004 and the 18 runs posted by BC were its most ever in a series with VT.
TRENDING RIGHT NOW
The Eagles are 2-8 in their last 10 games. BC has averaged 4.2 runs per game and allowed 7.1 during that span Scoring first proves to be vital, as BC is 12-7 on the year when earning the initial run and just 8-11 when allowing opponents to touch home first.
Andrea Filler extended her hitting streak to seven games by going a perfect 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI – all career highs - in Sunday’s rubber match against Virginia Tech. The Fort Wayne, Ind. native ended the series slugging 1.900, having hit three home runs and one double. Filler batted .700 (7-for-10) with seven runs driven in and four runs scored this past weekend.
BC ranks second in the ACC for slugging (.421) and third for batting (.275). Filler tops the conference with a .647 slugging percentage, with Brittany Wilkins (.583) and Nicole D’Argento (.568) rated fifth and seventh. The trio is also counted among the top 10 averages in the ACC, as D’Argento (.356) is third, Wilkins (.354) and Filler (.341) is seventh. They are also features in the top 10 for hits, on-base pct., home runs, total bases.
The Eagles have not defeated a ranked team since upsetting No. 24 Georgia Tech, 1-0, on April 4, 2009.
SCOUTING REPORT
UMass-Amherst (Wednesday, April 18 – 4 p.m.)
The Minutewomen (21-11) have gone 3-1 since facing the Eagles exactly two weeks ago. They are currently on a five-game win streak, which began against BC. UMass is 9-1 in the last 10 contests, which have featured three run-rules and five shutouts. The Minutewomen are hitting .271 on the year and averaging 4.4 runs per game. All-American Sara Ploude has registered 329 strikeouts this season, breaking the school’s career K mark, and leads the team with a 2.14 ERA. Cyndil Matthew has the team’s highest batting average (.410), while Q. Diaz-Patterson paces the squad in slugging (.574), RBI (27), home runs and doubles (11). When Plourde bats, she carries a .342 clip, with a team-high seven long balls and .921 slugging percentage.
Harvard (Thursday, April 19 – 4 p.m.)
The Crimson (24-10) was squaring with BU at the time of this release, but had gone 9-1 in the previous 10 games. Two shutouts and five run-rules occurred during the stretch which Harvard has been averaging 8.2 runs per game. However, the Crimson are just 13-9 in non-conference play this season. Eight players are batting .300 or greater, led by Jane Alexander’s .449 clip and Kasey Lange’s .421. Lange also delivers the most run production with 34 RBI and a team-best .682 slugging percentage. Rachel Brown and Laura Ricciardone have seen a similar amount of action on the mound, with 17 and 15 starts, respectively. Brown (14-4) is strikeout pitcher – 171 Ks in 120.0 innings – who carries a 1.63 earned run average and has limited opposing teams to a .161 batting average.
Florida State (Sat.-Sun., April 21-22 – both days start at 1 p.m.)
The 22nd-ranked Seminoles (38-10) travel to LSU and Troy before hosting the Eagles. FSU sits atop the ACC standings at 11-3. Lacey Waldrop (16-3) and Monica Perry (17-5) each have made 26 appearances and 20 or more starts this year. Perry has pitched 140.1 innings, carries a 1.55 ERA and has amassed 168 strikeouts at the time of this release. Waldrop has 104 Ks in 126.2 innings and brings a 1.38 earned run average to the series. Kristin Austin leads the team in batting (.354) and slugging (.447). Maddie O’Brien’s 33 runs batted in and Briana Hamilton’s nine home runs are team-bests.
| Boston College | UMass-Amherst | Harvard | Florida State | |||||||||
| Eagles | Opp. | Minutewomen | Opp. | Crimson | Opp. | Seminoles | Opp. | |||||
| Batting Avg. | .275 | .243 | .271 | .167 | .302 | .201 | .280 | .182 | ||||
| 2B-3B-HR | 42-5-29 | 38-7-25 | 44-3-21 | 18-1-16 | 50-6-11 | 32-7-10 | 49-16-23 | 42-5-17 | ||||
| SLG% | .421 | .382 | .409 | .359 | .403 | .290 | .404 | .270 | ||||
| OB% | .359 | .374 | .363 | .339 | .356 | .263 | .368 | .241 | ||||
| SB-ATT | 32-45 | 36-49 | 38-42 | 37-45 | 32-40 | 23-26 | 68-83 | 38-44 | ||||
| FLD% | .963 | .963 | .953 | .944 | --- | --- | .968 | .952 | ||||
| ERA | 3.89 | 3.98 | 2.76 | 3.98 | 2.07 | 3.94 | 1.47 | 3.60 | ||||
| K | 170 | 192 | 340 | 184 | 229 | 125 | 309 | 194 | ||||
| *All stats as of Tuesday, April 17 | ||||||||||||
