For most of the afternoon, both Boston College softball and the University of Massachusetts softball struggled offensively. In the end, both the Eagles and Minutemen only managed offensive productivity in the fifth inning—but it was enough for the Minutemen to earn a 2-1 win over BC (24-18, 8-6 Atlantic Coast).
UMass (20-19, 8-3 Mid-American) started the game off with a hit, but failed to capitalize on its base runner in the first inning. Pitcher Jessica Dreswick quickly rallied, however, striking out another batter and forcing two groundouts to end the top of the first, leaving Erin Stacevicz stranded at first.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, they also failed in the bottom of the first. Taylor Coroneos and Chloe Sharabba, batting first and second, respectively, each struck out. Up third, Annie Murphy made contact with the ball, but grounded out to shortstop.
Not a single batter reached base in the entire second inning. On the Minutemen side, Melissa Garcia and Ashton Wince grounded out, then Madison Gimpl flied out. For BC, Tatiana Cortez flied out, Taylor Chimento struck out, and then Allyson Moore grounded out.
In the third, each team put one runner on base, but again failed to capitalize. Kate Dennis led off for UMass in the inning, but struck out. Teammate Candace Denis, up second, singled, but was soon called out after leaving first early. Dreswick struck out Stacevicz for the third out, giving BC another chance at the plate.
Lexi DiEmmaneuele started the bottom of the third with a strikeout, but then teammate Brenna Griesser broke the Minutemen no-hitter. She poked a single through the left side of the infield and safely reached first. That was the only hit BC recorded in the inning, however, as Dani Thomas struck out and Coroneos grounded out to end the third.
In the fourth, both teams earned their best offensive chances, but once again failed to score any runs. Kaitlyn Stavinoha singled, putting a runner on first for the Minutemen. Stavinoha was thrown out at second, however, after Jena Cozza singled. Dreswick then struck out Tara Klee, but walked Garcia, putting runners on first and second. The Eagles escaped without any damage after Dreswick forced Wince to hit a pop fly for the easy third out.
Sharabba began the bottom of the fourth with a groundout, but teammate Murphy made up for it with a single to second base. Cortez followed it up with another single, putting runners at first and second. Cortez and Murphy each advanced with steals, reaching second and third, respectively. It seemed as though BC would take the lead with two runners in scoring position and only one out—but Chimento struck out and Moore grounded out, ending the fourth and stranding the two runners.
The fifth inning saw the only runs of the game. Gimpl started the inning out on a positive note for UMass by drawing a walk. Dennis laid down a sacrifice bunt, giving BC the first out of the inning but advancing Gimpl to second. Gimpl further advanced to third when Denis singled into the outfield. Stacevicz hit a sacrifice fly, allowing Gimpl to tag up and take home, giving the Minutemen a 1-0 lead. A Stavinoha double sent Denis home, but BC escaped the jam without any further damage.
Down 2-0, the Eagles refused to quit in the bottom of the fifth. DiEmmaneuele hit a hard grounder to short and managed to safely reach first. An error from the shortstop allowed her to take second, putting a runner in scoring position for the Eagles. She then stole third. Griesser grounded out to the pitcher, but the play allowed DiEmmaneuele to advance home, scoring BC’s only run of the day and cutting into UMass’ lead. But Thomas and Coroneos each failed to reach base, ending the inning without any more runs for the Eagles.
Neither team managed to score again in the sixth and seventh innings, but BC came close. With Murphy and Cortez on third and second, respectively, Chimento walked, loading the bases for the Eagles. Moore singled, but the Minutemen got Murphy out at home, preventing BC from scoring the tying run and handing the Eagles their fourth-straight loss.
Featured Image by Celine Lim / Heights Staff
