On Tuesday afternoon, Boston College softball faced Holy Cross, a team that it had not lost to since 1996. The Crusaders flipped the script in definitive fashion, shutting out the Eagles and recording a 6-0 win. But on Wednesday, when the teams met again, BC snapped back into form. Backed by the stellar pitching of senior Kendra Friedt and some timely two-out hitting, the Eagles snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-1 win over their Massachusetts rival.
Searching for an answer in the circle after allowing six runs to a Crusaders (10-31, 2-10 Patriot League) program that bats just .207 as a team and has scored the second-fewest runs in the Patriot League, the Eagles (16-29, 4-14 Atlantic Coast) turned to Friedt, who had logged just one start in 2019 before the matchup against the Crusaders. The senior answered the call, pitching a complete game and allowing just one run on three hits while striking out four.
Friedt kept Holy Cross off the board for the first three innings, giving BC enough time to finally score against the Crusaders. Gianna Boccagno and Allyson Moore notched consecutive singles to put multiple runners on base, and after a double steal moved both runners into scoring position, Kristin Giery produced the Eagles’ first runs against Holy Cross in 13 frames this season with a double into the right-center field gap. Boccagno and Moore both crossed home, staking BC to a 2-0 lead.
The Crusaders responded instantly, though, scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut into the Eagles’ edge. Bailey Chavez led off the inning with a single before reaching second base on an error from Carlie Sanders. Chavez moved over to third on another base hit before trotting in after Jessie Nagel tagged Friedt with a line-drive double into right field. Friedt locked down after that, whiffing Sydney Burr to kill the rally and end the inning.
Moore laced a double into right field on a 1-0 count with one out to get the sixth inning started, before Boccagno and Giery worked back-to-back walks to load the bases. Kelly Nelson—who pitched 5.2 innings as Holy Cross’ starter—struck out Carly Severini for the second out, but Sanders came through in the clutch and redeemed her earlier mistake, grounding a single through the right side of the infield to drive in a pair of runs and increase the Eagles’ lead to 4-1. Lexi DiEmmanuele and Ellie Mataya followed with two-out RBI singles of their own, helping BC tack on two more runs to its lead.
That would be more than enough offensive support for Friedt, who continued to cruise. She allowed no hits and just two baserunners over the course of the final three innings, helping the Eagles secure a much-needed victory.
After a disappointing performance on Tuesday, a fairly routine win over a team that BC owns a lifetime record of 26-2 against was exactly what the Eagles needed to pick up some momentum heading into the home stretch of the season. BC also showed some impressive plate discipline, picking up four runs with two outs. If that offensive approach can be duplicated in the Eagles’ two remaining weekend series, then at the very least BC should be able to put up runs against ACC competition—something they were unable to do against Florida State last weekend.
Featured Image by Jess Rivilis / Heights Staff
