Though their hopes of an ACC tournament appearance had all but vanished, the Eagles looked to end their turbulent season on a high note with a win against Stanford on Sunday.
Though they battled until the end, BC (22–29, 5–19 Atlantic Coast) fell 8–7 in extra innings to the Cardinal (39–10, 16–8 ACC) in a closely-contested battle.
“This season was filled with adversity,” BC head coach Amy Kvilhaug said. But yet, on a day like today, we still showed up to fight.”
Colleran’s day in the circle started shakily, as for the third consecutive game the Cardinal scored multiple runs in the top of the first inning—a Kyra Chan double into left field scored two runs.
Stanford starting pitcher Alyssa Houston similarly struggled early, as command issues gaves two Eagles a base on balls with two outs in the bottom of the first.
Zoe Hines would quickly take advantage, sending a three-run shot deep into left field on the second pitch she saw to give the Eagles their first lead of the weekend.
While it seemed like the Cardinal would make that lead short-lived after getting two runners in scoring position, an impressive throw from Kali Case in center field stopped the runner from scoring on the attempted sacrifice fly.
BC, similarly, went scoreless in the second. Houston’s command issues led to multiple full counts in the inning, but only one runner would reach base.
Slike got the BC offense going strong in the third, sending a single over the glove of a diving Emily Jones in right-center field with no outs. Slike would then steal second and, taking advantage of a throwing error, found herself on third with no outs, from which she would score thanks to a Jordan Stephens sac fly.
Houston’s day would end soon after, and Cardinal pitcher Zoe Prystajko would strike Case out to escape the inning and keep the game 4–2 heading into the fourth.
Though it seemed that Colleran would throw her fourth consecutive scoreless inning, River Mahler had other ideas, sending a towering shot into center field and tying the game at four with one swing of the bat.
The Cardinal wouldn’t stop there, though, as consecutive hits—a single and double—would give them a 5–4 lead in the top of the fifth, ending Colleran’s day.
In relief, Bailey Kendziorski would give up a single to the first batter she faced, allowing Stanford to extend their lead to 6–4 before BC would finally escape the top of the fifth inning.
Prystajko struggled with her command in the bottom of the fifth, issuing two four-pitch walks. This allowed a Case single to score Stephens from second, cutting into the Cardinal lead.
“[Pitch selection] was something that we really wanted to take into the weekend,” Kvilhaug said. “And I thought we did a good job taking advantage.”
The Eagles then found themselves in a prime position to tie or take the lead, as Meg Schouten would work a full-count walk, ending Prystajko’s outing and giving Abby Ptak a pivotal bases-loaded at-bat with two outs.
In a tense battle between Stanford pitcher Kylie Chung and Ptak, the freshman ultimately won, sending a two-run double into left-center field to give BC a 7–6 lead.
Kendziorski hampered any hope for a Stanford response in the top of the sixth, allowing only one baserunner due to a fielding error, giving the Cardinal only one more opportunity to fulfill their ambitions for a sweep.
“Bailey looked electric in those last couple innings,” Kvilhaug said. “I thought she looked as strong as I’ve ever seen her.”
Chung was just as suffocating in the circle for Stanford, though. Stephens’ single off of the left-field wall put one runner on for the Eagles—but they couldn’t capitalize, and Kendziorski would now be tasked with maintaining BC’s one-run lead in the seventh.
This was ultimately too tall of a task, though, as a Joie Economides single down the left-field line tied the game at seven in the top of the seventh inning.
Stanford would strike first in extras after Taryn Kern’s single into center field allowed Sydney Boulaphinh to score from second, giving the Cardinal an 8–7 lead.
That would be the extent of the scoring, though, meaning BC would need some late-game heroics to extend or win the game. Despite their best efforts, including a nine-pitch at-bat from Gator Robinson, BC found no luck in the bottom of the eighth, ending its season with a heartbreaking extra-inning loss.
On Senior Day for the Eagles, BC fell 20–7 over six innings to Stanford in a home run–heavy showdown between the two squads.
Though the Cardinal would jump out to an early lead in the top of the first, a three-run blast from Stephens—her 10th of the season—in the bottom of the inning knotted the game at three.
The Stanford offense was relentless, though, as they would score at least one run in each inning, capping off their explosive day with an eight-run sixth inning.
While BC would score four more runs in the game, all of which came from Stephens’ 11th home run of the season and a two-run shot from Espinoza, they were ultimately no match for the Cardinal.
In the circle, the Eagles needed to use four pitchers over the six-inning contest, with Colleran and Kendziorski giving up nine and seven earned runs, respectively.
The Eagles opened the weekend series with a 10–5 loss to the Cardinal after being outhit 18–7 in the seven-inning battle.
Stanford’s offense wasted no time in the top of the first, chasing Colleran from the kick by scoring five in the inning before she recorded a single out.
Pitching in relief, Kendziorski would end up going the entirety of the game, surrendering 14 hits and two walks over her seven-inning outing.
Though the final six and a half innings were evenly matched—both squads scored five each—BC couldn’t make a dent in the Cardinal advantage, allowing them to secure a victory in the opening game.
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