With the series tied 1–1 after Boston College softball split its Friday doubleheader with conference opponent Louisville, both teams entered Saturday’s game hungry for a series-clinching win.
Despite posting their highest-scoring game of the season, however, the Eagles exited Saturday’s game with a loss, moving them to 4–11 in ACC play and handing BC yet another conference series defeat.
Although the Eagles went down big early, as a 10–2 Louisville lead loomed over their heads after the top of the third, they rallied in the latter half of the game, outscoring the Cardinals 11–4.
Jordan Stephens posted an impressive showing at the plate, going 4 of 5 with a home run and a triple, posting six RBIs to account for nearly half of BC’s 13 runs.
The Cardinals were successful at the plate too, though. They posted five extra-base hits, four of which were doubles, ultimately allowing them to edge out a win and clinch the series.
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Bailey Kendziorski’s outing in the second half of Friday’s doubleheader started efficiently, as she posted a 1-2-3 inning that ended with a swinging strikeout from Char Lorenz.
Though it seemed the Cardinals would execute a similarly quick inning on defense, as a leadoff five-pitch strikeout against Emma Jackson suggested, Gator Robinson had other ideas.
She sent a solo shot over the left-field wall, giving BC an early edge.
Despite the early lead, though, the Eagles ultimately fell to Louisville 5–2 due to a quiet offensive showing.
“We hit some balls hard,” BC head coach Amy Kvilhaug said. “We have to cut back on [strikeouts], and we have to have better plate discipline.”
While the Eagles threatened to deal more damage in the opening frame, getting runners at first and second with two outs, Louisville starting pitcher Brooke Gray used a timely fielder’s choice on a ball from Adriana Martinez to keep the score 1–0 after the first.
The Cardinals were able to make some contact on Kendziorski’s pitches in the top of the second, getting two runners on base off two singles. But a quick heads-up catch at third from Janis Espinoza prevented any damage to BC’s lead.
Gray had a strong showing in the bottom of the second for Louisville, shutting down the BC offense and allowing only one baserunner by way of a walk to maintain the Cardinals’ one-run deficit.
In what was becoming a pitching duel, Kendziorski followed up Gray’s performance with her second 1-2-3 inning of the game, again ending it with a swinging strikeout.
Not wanting to be outdone, Gray answered Kendziorski with a 1-2-3 inning of her own to sustain the 1–0 score heading into the fourth.
Like clockwork, Kendziorski again shut down the Cardinal offense for her third 1-2-3 inning of the game.
Finally, Martinez broke the offensive stalemate for both sides in the bottom of the fourth, as she sent a ball into the right-center-field gap to reach first with one out.
Gray remained seemingly unfazed, though. The Eagles couldn’t get anything else going on offense, extending the scoring drought for both squads.
“We haven’t faced a lefty throwing 57 miles an hour yet this season,” Kvilhaug said “So, I think it’s just a matter of adjusting.”
Louisville finally broke through in the top of the fifth, as a single into left field from Jac Hasty scored Bri Despines from second to tie the game 1–1 with no outs on the board.
The draw wouldn’t last long, however. In the very next at-bat, Taylor Monroe hit a two-RBI homer to give Louisville its first lead of the game.
“[Kendziorski] typically doesn’t fall behind as much as she did today,” Kvilhaug said. “But she gave us everything she had.”
Kendziorski settled in and got the next three batters out in quick succession to limit the damage and send the game into the bottom of the fifth with a two-run deficit for the Eagles.
In the circle, Gray was unrelenting. A one-out single from Jackson gave BC hope of some offensive success, but consecutive flyouts from Robinson and Hannah Slike got the Cardinals out of the inning unscathed.
Kendziorski loaded the bases in the top of the sixth by walking a batter and hitting another with a pitch. But a timely flyout to center field provided the third out of the inning and kept the game at 3–1.
In desperate need of life on offense, Stephens led off the bottom of the sixth inning for the Eagles with a sharp single into left field.
Once again, Gray showed no mercy to the BC offense, getting the next three batters out, two of whom she struck out, to suffocate BC’s hopes of cutting into the two-run advantage held by the Cardinals.
Louisville poured it on in the top of the seventh, scoring two runs off a double into left field that went over the head of Zoe Hines, leading Kvilhaug to pull Kendziorski with one out left.
In relief, Gabriella Aughton secured the final out of the top of the seventh inning, getting the Eagles up to bat in need of a substantial offensive explosion to secure what could have been a series-clinching win over the Cardinals.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Abby Ptak sent her first career home run over the left-field wall to cut into the deficit, making the score 5–2 with lots of work still to be done.
This score would stand, though, as a Robinson pop-up in foul territory ended the Eagles’ hopes of a walk-off victory in the second game of their Friday doubleheader.
“You just go out and you play softball, you have fun, you execute,” Kvilhaug said. “We’ve prepared and we’re ready.”
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BC scored its first run of the weekend in the bottom of the first inning in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader when a wild pitch allowed Jackson to score from third.
That put the Eagles up 1–0 over Louisville, giving them their first lead of the ACC foes’ weekend series.
This would be the extent of BC’s scoring, though, until a run from Robinson on a fielder’s choice and a Martinez sacrifice fly scored two more runs for BC in the bottom of the fifth.
Those two runs were ultimately enough for the Eagles to secure a 3–1 victory, thanks in large part to a strong pitching performance from Kelly Colleran.
Colleran posted a complete performance, conceding only one run, which came off two triples in the top of the fourth.
Colleran allowed only three runners to reach base over the span of her seven-inning outing, helping BC to what turned out to be its only win of the weekend.
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