In Boston College softball’s weekend series against Duke, the Eagles’ pitching staff struck out just nine batters over the course of three games. In BC’s Tuesday matchup against Merrimack, Peyton Schnackenberg, Abby Dunning, and Susannah Anderson matched that total in just one game.
Led by lights-out pitching, BC (15–17, 2–10 Atlantic Coast) shut out Merrimack 7–0. Six Eagles earned an RBI in the contest, and Hannah Slike scored the additional run on a Merrimack error.
BC opened the matchup with a four-run first inning and never looked back. After Slike, Abigail Knight, and Nicole Giery each singled, Kennedy Labshere came up to bat with the bases loaded. Merrimack third baseman Sofia Palyan committed an error, scoring Slike.
Darien McDonough hit a sacrifice fly in the next at-bat, sending Knight home. Then, Merrimack’s starter Bry Michitson walked Djhane Valido, Kamryn Warman, and Gianna Sarlo in consecutive at-bats, which brought in two more BC runs to put the Eagles up 4–0.
After Katelyn Thompson replaced Michitson, Ellie Mataya grounded out to end the top of the inning.
In the bottom of the inning, Schnackenberg got things started for BC’s pitching staff with a one-two-three inning, downing the top of Merrimack’s lineup in order.
Schnackenberg pitched the first three innings, giving up two hits and one walk while earning three strikeouts. The senior faced just 12 batters—three in the first, five in the second, and four in the third.
BC’s offense picked up where it started in the top of the fourth inning. Warman got things started with a single, and then Thompson walked Kali Case and hit Mataya with a pitch to load the bases. While Knight was up to bat, a wild pitch scored Warman. Knight then grounded out, but Case scored. Giery finished the inning with a single to score Mataya.
In the bottom of the fourth, Dunning picked up the reins from Schnackenberg. Dunning pitched a near-perfect two innings for BC, facing just seven batters. She allowed one Merrimack base runner in the fourth but retired the other three batters to leave the runner stranded. In the fifth inning, she struck out the side, increasing BC’s strikeout total to six.
Veteran pitcher Anderson closed things out for the Eagles with two innings of work. She allowed just one hit during her time on the mound and struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh inning to close out BC’s win. Anderson’s three strikeouts gave the Eagles’ pitching corps nine on the game.
Featured Image by Nicole Wei / Heights Staff
