For a brief stretch, it seemed as though Boston College softball had found its groove.
Four straight wins, including a series-clinching win over Pittsburgh, left the Eagles going into their final game of the weekend with some confidence.
But that game ended in a 6–2 loss, and Tuesday’s game went almost undoubtedly worse for BC (15–16, 3–9 Atlantic Coast), as they were shut out 7–0 by Connecticut (19–12, 7–2 Big East).
Neither team started hot, as the game remained scoreless through the first two innings. But all it took was one big inning from UConn for BC to fall into a deficit it was ultimately unable to crawl out of.
The Huskies put together a three-run inning in the third, beginning with starting pitcher Kelly Colleran walking the second batter up. Then, Kaitlyn Kibling reached on a fielding error, and Lexi Hastings cracked a single up the middle.
Kaiea Higa capitalized on that offense by hitting a two-RBI single right up the middle of the field, giving the Huskies the first lead of the game.
One more single up the middle scored Hastings, putting UConn up 3–0 headed into the bottom half of the frame.
The fourth was another rough inning for Colleran. She gave up a double, a single, a walk, and one run to push UConn’s lead further.
But things only got worse in the fifth.
Kaitlyn Breslin led off with a home run that not only pushed the lead to five but took all remaining air out of the Eagles’ lungs.
No hits in the third, fourth, or fifth innings certainly didn’t help the Eagles’ case, as their stagnant offense was equally as culpable as BC’s poor pitching.
And the first inning might have been BC’s best offensively—it was the only frame the Eagles produced more than one hit.
UConn pitcher Sydnee Koosh stayed on the mound for all seven innings, giving up two walks and five hits while striking out seven batters.
The Huskies topped the scoring off with one run each in the sixth and seventh innings. The run in the sixth came off a single from Grace Jenkins. Kibling took off from second base after Jenkins’ hit, sprinting all the way through home plate after stealing second earlier in the frame.
Then in the seventh, Savannah Ring reached on a throwing error and then advanced to second. Immediately following, Haley Coupal hit a single that scored Ring from second base to produce the final 7–0 score.
Colleran didn’t come out until she had pitched five innings. Reliever Gabriella Aughton only gave up one earned run during her two-inning stint, but the damage had already been done, and the Eagles began a fresh losing streak with a long week of games ahead of them.
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