Boston College softball opened its home season on Friday, hosting Virginia for a three-game series. After the Eagles dropped Friday’s game, they looked to earn their first home win of the season.
But BC fell short, dropping its Saturday game 5–2 and its Sunday game 6–5.
BC’s performance on Sunday was a testimony to its grit and determination. After losing the previous two games in the series, the Eagles (14–14, 2–7 Atlantic Coast) struggled in the early innings and trailed 6–1 by the end of the fourth. BC rallied against Virginia—which sits second in the ACC standings—late in the game, only to fall short by one run.
In the first inning, Virginia (21–12, 8–1) hit the ground running when Tori Gilbert homered to left center in the second at-bat of the game.
But BC battled back in the bottom half of the inning. Hannah Slike hit a triple to center field, putting herself in scoring position as Darien McDonough came up to bat. McDonough brought Slike in with an RBI single, and the inning ended tied 1–1.
The Cavaliers pulled away in the top of the third. Virginia catcher Donna Friedman singled to left field and advanced to second on a sac fly from Arizona Ritchie. Friedman then scored on Sarah Coon’s RBI double to right center. BC pitcher Abby Dunning then walked Gilbert. With Coon and Gilbert on base, Katie Goldberg hit a three-run homer to left center, and the inning ended 5–1 in Virginia’s favor.
BC’s offense struggled to retaliate, and the Cavaliers kept pushing forward to score again in the top of the fourth. After Dunning walked her, Lauren VanAssche advanced to second on a passed ball and ran home on a double to right field from Abby Weaver, extending Virginia’s lead to five.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles’ offense broke through its five-inning rut. Abigail Knight began the offensive surge with a single to center field, followed by a double from Nicole Giery. With Djhane Valido—pinch running for Giery—on second and Knight on third, Kennedy Labshere hit an infield single to bring both runners home and cut BC’s deficit to three.
But the Eagles weren’t finished. With Maddy Carpe pinch running for Labshere and Gianna Boccagno at bat, BC had a chance to cut the deficit even further.
Boccagno hit a rocket past the centerfield fence, bringing in Carpe for a two-run homer. Virginia’s comfortable five-run lead had shrunk to one run with only one inning left.
But after a scoreless seventh inning, Virginia secured a 6–5 victory and swept the series.
One day prior, the BC fell short after hanging with the Cavaliers until the seventh inning.
Virginia surged ahead in the first inning off a two-RBI single from Goldberg. Gilbert singled in the top of the fourth to put the Cavaliers up 3–0, but BC answered. First, in the bottom of the inning, Labshere hit an RBI single that brought Knight home. In the fifth inning, Knight hit an RBI single that brought Slike home to put the Eagles within one run.
The Cavaliers pulled away in the seventh, scoring two runs to take the second game of the weekend with a 5–2 win.
Peyton Schnackenberg pitched the first 6.1 innings of Saturday’s game for BC, allowing eight hits and five runs in 28 at-bats. Susannah Anderson replaced Schnackenberg with one out in the seventh and allowed one at-bat in the final three at-bats.
Featured Image by Nicole Wei / Heights Staff
