In the annual Red Bandanna Game, senior catcher Hannah Slike donned the No. 19 patch for Boston College softball, honoring the life of Welles Crowther.
“Hannah Slike has been someone who’s always been a woman for the team,” BC head coach Amy Kvilhaug said. “She’s always just been somebody for others, whether it be through her on-field leadership, her performance, or community service.”
The Eagles (17–18, 3–9 Atlantic Coast) couldn’t contain the Villanova Wildcats (18–17–1, 8–4 Big East), losing 11–2 on Sunday afternoon.
Wasting no time in the top of the first, Villanova jumped out to a 2–0 lead after a two-run shot sailed over the head of Zoe Hines in left field.
Bailey Kendziorski bounced back, though, as she would strike out the next batter and induce two groundouts to limit the damage to two.
Villanova got right back to work in the second, as consecutive singles with one out led Kvilhaug to opt for a pitching change, pulling Kendziorski after only 1.1 innings pitched.
Kelly Colleran then entered the game hot, striking out the first batter she faced and inducing a groundout to close out the top of the second.
But in the top of the third, the Villanova offense pushed the lead to 3–0 with its second solo home run of the game
The Eagles’ misfortunes continued in the bottom of the third.
“Sometimes it’s just a rough day, but the inconsistency is what makes it a challenge to coach,” Kvilhaug said. “You kind of don’t know what’s going to show up.”
Gator Robinson had other ideas, as she sent a solo shot into left field for her first home run of the season and the Eagles’ first run of the game.
The Wildcats, while threatening to score with a runner on third, couldn’t get to Colleran in the top of the fourth, sending the game to the bottom of the inning with the score still at 3–1.
A two-run shot to right field from Brooklyn Ostrowski pushed the Wildcats’ lead to 5–1 in the top of the fifth inning.
Kat Gallant then mowed through the Eagles’ lineup with another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth, this time with two consecutive strikeouts, to sustain Villanova’s four-run advantage.
A leadoff double in the top of the sixth led Kvilhaug to make her second pitching change of the day, putting Gabriella Aughton in the circle.
Villanova, however, still tallied its fourth home run of the game, widening the deficit to seven runs.
Again, turning to her bullpen, Kvilhaug replaced Aughton with Shannon MacLeod.
Gallant made quick work of BC’s lineup in her third consecutive 1-2-3 inning of the game in the bottom of the sixth, shutting down any potential comeback hopes for the Eagles.
The Wildcats ultimately took the matchup by a score of 12–1.
“It’s a constant game of adjustments, and it’s a game of learning, you know,” Kvilhaug said. “It’s watching what worked, what didn’t work, and going to work on the things that are weaknesses.”
In their second game of the Friday doubleheader, the Eagles bested the Wildcats 9–0 in five innings thanks to a shutout performance by Colleran.
BC found success quickly, as an Emma Jackson walk and a Slike double allowed them both to reach home thanks to a fielding error from Villanova, giving the Eagles an early edge in the bottom of the first.
The Eagles’ offense truly exploded in the bottom of the second, though, as they would score five runs off five hits, including three consecutive singles, that gave BC a 7–0 lead through two innings.
A solo home run from Slike and an RBI single from Kali Case in the bottom of the third inning gave BC a 9–0 advantage over Villanova and secured the Eagles a mercy-rule victory over the Wildcats in five innings.
BC opened the weekend series against Army (21–16, 5–0 Patriot League), defeating the Black Knights 7–0 in the first-ever matchup between the two squads.
The Eagles’ offense struck fast in the bottom of the first, as a double from Adriana Martinez gave BC an early 2–0 lead.
After another quick scoreless half from the Army offense, the Eagles picked up right where they left off in the bottom of the second, scoring four runs off singles from Jackson and Jordan Stephens and a Hannah Slike double.
Though the rest of the game was relatively quiet on offense for both squads, a throwing error in the bottom of the fifth inning allowed Slike to score from third, giving the Eagles their seventh and final run of the game.
Pitching a complete game shutout, Kendziorski silenced the Black Knights. Supported by a strong defensive showing in the field, which yielded no errors, the Eagles cruised to a 7–0 victory.
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