Local colleges: Littleton softball pitcher Kasey Ricard makes huge impact as freshman at Boston University
Kasey Ricard made her collegiate debut in the sixth inning of Boston University’s 2023 opener against St. Joseph’s in Tampa, Florida, and the former Littleton High ace admits she was a little nervous as she stepped inside the circle at the University of South Florida Stadium.
“I wanted to get my first pitch over with,” Ricard said in a phone interview from her BU dorm Monday night, after cheering on Boston Marathon runners during the day.
Ricard, Littleton’s all-time strikeout leader, K’d two of the three batters she faced and closed out an 8-0 Terriers win.
“We were at this big stadium,” Ricard said. “It was a lot to take in. Getting that first pitch in, I wouldn’t say it took off the pressure, but it definitely made it easier going into the next game.”
Ricard made her first start the next day, and earned her first win in a three-hit shutout.
Ricard, a freshman, and seniors Allison Boaz and Lizzy Avery form a fearsome pitching staff, and they have led the Terriers (36-7, 9-0 Patriot League) to a terrific season.
“Our pitching staff is really good,” Ricard said. “It’s really rewarding to be in the starting rotation. All three of us starters work off each other really well, and we support each other at all times. We know we need each other to win. It’s a really good atmosphere to be around.”
Ricard, a two-time T&G Super Team honoree, was a dominant high school pitcher. She also set the Littleton record for lowest ERA. Her final two seasons, she struck out 445 and walked just one.
Additionally, Ricard pitched the first perfect game in Tigers history, and she holds the program record for most no-hitters.
With her signature high left leg kick upon delivery, and a repertoire that includes a fastball, curve, rise, screw and change, the 5-foot-9 Ricard has seamlessly transitioned to the college game.
In 28 appearances (13 starts), she is 15-2 with 147 strikeouts and 26 walks in 109 innings. She has thrown seven shutouts and has two saves.
Ricard leads the Patriot League in strikeouts, shutouts and opponent batting average (.174).
“In college,” Ricard said, “not a lot is given to you. When I miss a pitch now, it gets hit for a home run. That’s something I’ve had to adjust to, and I’ve learned since fall season.”
Picard has yielded 20 extra-base hits this season, including nine home runs.
In a three-game series at Holy Cross early this month, Ricard was immense. She hurled her first career no-hitter, struck out 29, walked 3, and allowed 1 hit in 14⅓ innings over the three games.
In a one-hit shutout of the Crusaders on April 2, Ricard struck out 17, the most by a BU player in a PL game.
“Holy Cross was definitely biting at my rise ball,” Ricard said. “The umpire was giving me the outside of the plate, so I lived over there for a while.”
Ricard, who was a member of the National Honor Society in high school, is a health science major at BU.
She is wearing uniform No. 77 as a tribute to her dad, Christopher, who wore that number on his football jersey at UMass-Lowell.
“He was surprised and proud of it,” Ricard said.
Since her sophomore year of high school, Ricard has worked with pitching coach Robyn King, the former North Middlesex Regional great and a BU Hall of Famer.
“She definitely helped in the recruiting process,” said Ricard, who also drew interest from Bryant, Siena, Fordham and Merrimack, “talking to (BU) coach (Ashley) Waters, because she couldn’t come see me during COVID. I didn’t know about BU until my junior year of high school when Coach Waters reached out to me. I was a little late to the process at BU, but it ended up being the perfect fit.”
Rings highlight HC banquet
At Saturday’s team banquet, Holy Cross football coach Bob Chesney had a big, shiny and well-deserved surprise for his players — their 2022 Patriot League championship rings.
Among the recipients were the 14 fifth-year seniors, including running back Peter Oliver, cornerback John Smith and linebacker Liam Anderson, who all aspire to play at the next level and were part of the group that led the Crusaders prodigiously during their historic run last fall.
“We never coached a game, had a banquet, did anything here without those fifth-year kids,” Chesney, who enters his sixth season at HC, said after Saturday’s annual spring game at Fitton Field, “but it’s the nature of the beast and part of the program changing. You’re never the same team year to year, but the standards don’t change year to year or week to week; they just don’t change.”
Chesney, who has guided Holy Cross to four straight Patriot League titles, was very happy with his team’s effort, intensity and compete level throughout the spring season. On Saturday, he got a good look at returning starters such as quarterback Matthew Sluka, and up-and-comers like running back Sam Slade, who will take on bigger roles in 2023, as HC sets its sights on a PL five-peat.
“The standard is the standard,” Chesney said, “and what we’ve set up at this point in time is what we are, and I just don’t think there is going to be another way to do it.”
Head of the Class
∎ Worcester State freshman utility player Amanda Adamuska of Dudley and Shepherd Hill Regional batted .600 with two doubles and three RBIs in the Lancers’ doubleheader split with Westfield State.
∎ Assumption sophomore pitcher Anna Tassone of Gardner went 2-0 and allowed one earned run in 14⅓ innings. She posted a 0.49 ERA and a .196 opponent batting average.
∎ St. Anselm junior catcher/outfielder Gracie O’Hara of Shrewsbury batted .538 with two RBIs and two runs scored over a pair of doubleheaders.
∎ St. Michael’s sophomore first baseman Max Kolifrath of Millbury went 9 for 18 with two home runs and six RBIs during a five-game week.
∎ Holy Cross senior Christian Emmerich fired a 5-under-par 67 at the Roar-EE Invitational at Wiltwyck Golf Club in Kingston, New York, to earn co-medalist honors for the first time in his career and lead HC to its first team championship since 2019.
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Littleton pitcher Kasey Ricard makes huge impact at Boston University
