Getting off to a hot start at its first invitational in Houston last weekend, Boston College softball (6-3) looked to pick up right where it left off as it traveled to Arizona to play in its second invitational of the young season. The Eagles won three games and lost two at the Wildcat Invitational, bringing their record to 6-3 on the season.
The Eagles played University of Arizona (11-0) in the final leg of the invitational on Sunday afternoon. Things were looking up for BC, as it tallied two early runs in the first thanks to an RBI double from Chimento and an RBI single from Murphy. Arizona starter Nancy Bowling recovered from this early falter, however, as these would be the Eagles’ only runs of the contest. The Wildcats responded in the bottom half of the first with a barrage of eight runs on the back of catcher Dejah Mulipola, who tallied a whopping five RBIs in the first inning alone. While this would have been enough, the Wildcats did not stop here as they added one more in the third and three more in the fourth. This pushed the Arizona lead to 12-2 and eventually force the mercy rule, ending the game after four and a half innings.
Earlier on Sunday, the Eagles rediscovered their offensive mojo against Ball State University (3-7). In the first contest against Ball State, BC collected a weekend-high 11 hits and scored six runs. BC, which jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI single from Cortez in the first and a solo shot from Sharabba in the second, fell behind 4-2 after Dreswick walked in a run and allowed two singles for a total of four runs. The Eagles added one of their own in the fifth by virtue of a fielder’s choice by Taylor Coroneos to make the score 4-3. BC set the stage for more late inning dramatics as they headed into the sixth trailing 4-3. Sharabba knocked in a run, her second of the game, to tie the score at four. Then, with two out and two on in the sixth, catcher Jordan Chimento hit a game-winning two-run home run that would prove the difference in the contest.
On Saturday night, the Eagles played their third of five games against Drake (6-4). In another low scoring affair in which the Eagles mustered just one run coming off four hits, Drake’s starter Nicole Newman got the better of them as she shut them out until the sixth inning. Newman also knocked in a run for Drake in the fourth. Additionally, Drake scored in the sixth and seventh innings to tally a total of three runs which proved to be enough to hand the Eagles their first loss of the weekend. BC’s lone run of the night came in the sixth when Tatiana Cortez knocked in Sharabba on an RBI double. BC’s Jordan Weed pitched well, giving up just five hits and striking out seven, but it was not enough to get a win for her team.
The Eagles faced off against North Dakota State (1-5) in a game that had to be rescheduled from Thursday due to rain. In what was truly a pitchers’ duel, BC walked away with a 1-0 win thanks to a second inning RBI single by Taylor Coroneos, scoring Murphy. The Eagles also have pitcher Jessica Dreswick to thank for the win as she hurled a shutout, two-hit gem against the Bison.
The weekend got off to an exciting, dramatic start for the Eagles as they faced off against Abilene Christian University (3-4). After scoring two runs early thanks to a two-run homer by first-baseman Jules Trevino, who finished the game going 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs, the Eagles found themselves stymied offensively. Alongside a run tallied in the first by virtue of a fielding error committed by Sharabba, ACU added two of their own runs in the second and in the fifth thanks to an overall balanced offensive attack. When the top of the seventh rolled around, the Eagles trailed 5-2. Thanks to a huge two-out double by Halle Hixenbaugh (1-for-3, 3 RBI) , BC mounted a last-inning comeback to force extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Sharabba laid a sacrifice bunt, allowing Lexi DiEmmaneuele to advance to third base. DiEmmaneuele eventually scored the winning run.
Featured Image by Haley Cormier / Heights Archive
