Despite picking up their first win in program history against No. 16 Clemson University on Friday, the weekend series showed there appears to be a long way to go for Boston College Softball.
Entering Saturday’s game, the Eagles were 1–9 against the Tigers since they started playing each other in 2021 but they were likely hoping to capitalize on Friday’s success going into the final game of the series.
The Eagles (22–11, 4–5 Atlantic Coast) competed early on with the Tigers (23–10, 7–4) but a disastrous fourth inning led to an early end of the game in the fifth inning on Saturday morning in Clemson, S.C.
The Tigers struck first in the bottom of the second. Arielle Oda bunted to Halie Pappion but a poor throw to first allowed her to get on base. The next batter, Alex Brown, drove a ball hard down the first base line, allowing Oda to round the bases and giving Clemson the 1–0 lead.
Clemson extended its lead in the bottom of the third inning when Alia Logoleo laced a ball into left-center field driving McKenzie Clark in from second base. Pappion took care of the next three batters, keeping Clemson’s lead at 2–0 despite runners in scoring position.
Going into the top of the fourth inning, the Eagles were still looking for any offensive life and Hannah Slike stepped up, slicing a ball into short-right field.
Nicole Giery took advantage of an error by Maddie Moore on a grounder to second to give the Eagles runners on first and second.
After the Eagles got two runners on, Clemson pulled Brooke McCubbin after only 41 pitches, in favor of Reagan Spencer.
Spencer made quick work of the Eagles, striking out Robinson and Makenna Segal before Elisabeth Laviolette lined out to right field, keeping the Eagles in a two run hole.
In the fifth inning, things took a turn for the worse for BC. Brown popped a ball between three Eagles in right-center before Moore singled up the middle, driving Oda home and giving the Tigers a three run lead.
Addison Jackson took over for Pappion on the mound but the Tigers kept pushing and racked up a 7–0 lead going into the fifth inning.
The Eagles tried to mount a comeback after Julie Shields singled and Maycee Hilt walked, but Spencer struck-out Emma Jackson and Slike popped up to center-field, keeping the Tiger lead at seven.
Cagle homered to left-center in the bottom of the fifth which gave the Tigers a 10–0 lead and ended the game due to the “NCAA Mercy Rule.”
On Friday, BC picked up its first ever win over Clemson, and a ranked one at that. Abby Dunning toed the rubber for the Eagles in what shaped up to be a dominant shutout in which she allowed just three hits and four walks to the Tigers in seven innings pitched.
The Eagles offense offered the necessary run support to, which gave the Eagles the advantage and helped earn Dunning her 10th win of the season.
After three scoreless innings for both dugouts, BC broke the game open in the top of the fourth when Robinson tallied a single and a throwing error allowed Giery to score, making it 1–0. Jordan Stephens then reached on a fielding error and Robisnon made it a 2–0 game.
In the seventh inning BC added to its total when Slike singled up the middle and picked up two RBIs. Dunning shut down the Tigers in the bottom of the seventh and BC made the series 1–1.
On Thursday, the Tigers’ offense was led by Maddie Moore, who recorded two hits and three RBIs in Clemson’s 10–2 win over BC.
Clemson’s offense continuously caused problems for the Eagles. In the bottom of the first, seven batters were at the plate. BC managed to hold Clemson to one run, but Abby Dunning walked three batters.
The Tigers’ offense hit the ground running in the second inning, scoring six runs and forcing BC into two pitching changes. Mckenzie Clark tripled to left center to bring in two runners, then she scored on a flyout, giving Clemson a 4–0 lead. Then, Logoleo homered to left field, scoring two runs as Clemson ultimately took a 7–0 lead heading into the third.
In the third, Grace Hiller launched a solo shot that made it 8–0 Tigers.
The Eagles scored their first run of the game in the top of the fourth. Makenna Segal singled to left field, then Stephens hit a triple to bring home pinch-runner Katelyn Deguire and put the Eagles on the board.
In the bottom of the fourth, Moore hit a home run to get Clemson to double digits, and the Eagles could not recover.
The Eagles’ best inning was its last. In the fifth, BC sent out seven batters who recorded four hits and one run. Jackson, Slike, and Giery started the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases with no outs. Robinson singled to bring Jackson home. However, the Eagles then recorded three outs in a row to end the game, losing the first of the three game series.
