With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, the matchup between Boston College softball and Syracuse was knotted up at 2–2, and the Eagles’ offense had gone cold at the plate. Their last seven batters all managed to put the ball in play, but none of them were rewarded with a hit. Without a change to the slumping offense, BC and the Orange would have to head to extra innings.
Gator Robinson ended up providing the shot of energy the Eagles desperately needed, ripping a double down the left field line and hustling to third after a throwing error by Taylor Posner. The stands and dugout erupted when Robinson stood up at third.
After Emma Jackson reached on a fielder’s choice, Hannah Slike turned on the first pitch she saw, scorching a ground ball through the infield. Robinson had an easy jog home, and the Eagles poured out of the dugout to swarm Slike at first base.
With the 3–2 walkoff win, BC (20–8, 3–2 Atlantic Coast) earned its second victory over Syracuse (13–13, 1–7) on Friday, and claimed the conference series.
Slike’s flair for the clutch extended far past her walk-off single, though. Slike had a pair of extra-base hits and nabbed two runners attempting steals. Slike also became the first player to throw out Syracuse’s Angel Jasso on a stolen base attempt. Jasso was a perfect 12-of-12 on stolen bases this season before Slike put an end to her streak.
“I think what they tried to do is take advantage of Hannah because she had made a couple poor throws,” BC head coach Amy Kvilhaug said. “They watched her between innings, I think her throws weren’t on, but test her when the lights are on and that’s generally what’s gonna happen between her and Gator and the beautiful tags, and the tandem of her and Gator was great.”
The fourth inning of BC’s second game also displayed a crafty offense for the Eagles, who ended up plating a runner without adding a hit or walk to their tallies. Elisabeth Laviolette took a pitch to the elbow to begin the rally, and she was moved over to second by Makenna Segal’s sacrifice bunt. After a throwing error by the Orange, a strikeout ended up allowing a clever baserunning choice for the Eagles when Laila Morales-Alves dropped the third strike. Laviolette took advantage and dashed for home plate to make it 2–0.
“I think we all feed off of each other’s energies on anything,” Kvilhaug said. “I mean, Makenna [Segal] put a sacrifice bunt down which sometimes goes unnoticed, it’s a small win that can contribute to big victories. And Emma, you know—Gator getting on base for Hannah and to roll up. So I think we feed off a lot of energy, collectively as a team.”
In the sixth inning, Syracuse launched its response. Jasso led off the inning with a single, then Taylor Posner stepped up to the plate with one out and hit a soaring fly ball to center. The center fielder, Kali Case, got under the fly ball and made a leap at the wall, but the ball cleared her glove and the outfield wall all at once. The home run marked the first that Halie Pappion had allowed this season.
In the first game of the Eagles’ doubleheader, BC scored two runs on a second-inning homer from Robinson. Robinson’s homer proved to be the difference maker in the game, as BC garnered just four hits in total.
Luckily for BC, Abby Dunning’s complete game silenced the Orange until the very end. Dunning allowed the leadoff batter to walk in the seventh inning, and the Orange had an opportunity to make a comeback, down 2–0.
The next batter Dunning faced lined a double past the diving effort of Case. The runner on first came all the way around to score, and the tying run was on second base. But Dunning appeared unfettered as she forced the next batter to ground out, and then put the last two batters down swinging. Dunning allowed just three hits and struck out 11 batters.
