Sunday: L, 12–9

Boston College softball met Pittsburgh for a rubber match on Sunday morning, hoping to claim its first series victory of the season. Unfortunately for the Eagles, that’s not what happened—instead, BC lost 12–9 for its sixth loss in seven games. 

The Eagles (10–20, 2–4 Atlantic Coast) and the Panthers (17–12, 4–5) were both looking to claim momentum in conference play, and the series had already delivered drama—Pitt took the opener before BC answered with a 6–3 win, setting the stage for a decisive game three.

BC turned to Emily Van Cleef in the circle, and it was Pitt that struck first as KK Esparza lined an RBI single to bring Tieley Vaughn home from second, giving the Panthers a 1–0 lead in the bottom of the first.

The Eagles responded quickly in the second. Bekah Duck walked her third batter of the game, and Katelyn Deguire followed with a single to put two runners on base. Tavye Borders crushed a double off the wall to drive in a run, and Kae DePerio added an RBI single of her own. Then, Borders stole home in a heads-up baserunning play to cap a three-run inning and put BC up 3–1.

Pitt fired right back in the bottom of the inning, plating three runs off two singles and a double to reclaim a 4–3 advantage in a game that had quickly become an offensive showcase.

Abby Ptak led off the third with a solo home run, prompting a pitching change from Pitt. Though the Panthers turned a double play later in the inning, Janis Espinoza managed to tag up and score and regain a 5–4 BC lead. 

But once again, Pitt had an answer—Camryn Murphy launched a home run to center field to even the score 5–5 heading into the fourth inning. 

The back-and-forth battle continued for the rest of the game. Sammy Horn delivered an RBI single to score Nicole Riddell and put BC back on top in the top of the fourth, and Deguire and Espinoza each added RBI singles to stretch the Eagles’ lead to 8–5.

But the Panthers refused to go away. Esparza came through again with an RBI single to score Ahmari Braden, and Calle Henne followed with a clutch double to cut the deficit to 8–7 in the bottom of the fourth inning. The rally continued as Mackenzie Reese doubled to right field and Murphy drove in another run on a groundout, giving Pitt a 9–8 lead by the end of the frame.

After a scoreless fifth, the scoring resumed in the sixth. Adriana Martinez singled to bring in Tannis Jackin and briefly tie the game for the Eagles, but Esparza delivered the decisive blow with a go-ahead home run. Moments later, Gracie Helton added a two-run homer of her own, pushing Pitt’s lead to 12–9 heading into the final inning.

Pitt’s Kyra Pittman shut the door on BC from the mound, striking out three Eagles in order to secure the 12–9 victory. With the win, Pitt claimed the series 2–1 while scoring an average of eight runs across the three games. 

Saturday: W, 6–3

Following a Friday night loss, the Eagles had a fire set under them to get it done on Saturday afternoon and clinch a redemption win. 

The opening three innings were a slow start for both teams offensively, leaving the scoreboard at 0–0.

In the fourth inning, both teams got their offense started, with BC on the board first after a solo home run deep into center field off the bat of Emma Knight.

Pitt answered back in the bottom of the fourth with its own run off a throwing error from Knight that would let Payton Harris advance from second base to home plate, tying the game back up 1–1.

The fifth inning saw no additional scoring, leaving the Eagles and Panthers tied 1–1 going into the 6th. 

The Eagles’ offense took off in the sixth with a lead-off single from Knight, a Ptak walk, and another single from Espinoza to load the bases. Martinez was next to bat and knocked out a grand slam to right field, driving all runners home and adding four more to the score for BC. 

The Eagles weren’t done yet. 

Riddell smacked her own home run to close out the scoring for BC in the sixth and put it up 6–1. Riddell’s solo shot was her third home run of the season. 

Pitt worked hard to come back, but they ultimately couldn’t match the five runs BC had just put on the board. 

The Panthers managed to threaten with an additional two runs on a throwing error from Espinoza that brought Henne home from second, and later on a steal to home plate from Reese that would close out the scoring for Pitt and end the sixth inning. 

Neither team scored in the last inning, as Bailey Kendziorski notched the last three outs on the mound to close the game out 6–3 for a much-needed Eagles win. 

Friday: L, 9–8

Coming off a weekend sweep against South Carolina, BC came into its Friday night game against Pitt looking to get some momentum back on its side. 

It seemed the Eagles would be successful in that quest as they took an early 7–2 lead, but Pitt was able to muster up a comeback and a walk-off win to start the weekend off on a high.

The Eagles struck first when Martinez launched a two-run homer in the top of the second to give BC a 2–0 lead. That lead wouldn’t remain for long, though, as Pitt struck back with two runs of its own, thanks to four walks issued by Eagles starter Van Cleef and an infield single that tied the game.

BC responded in the top of the third, loading the bases before Espinoza was hit by a pitch to put BC up 3–2.

The fourth inning is when BC’s offense did its most damage. 

After back-to-back strikeouts to lead off the inning, DePerio and Horn reached base as Knight came up to bat. Knight came through, launching her seventh home run of the year in the form of a three-run bomb to put BC up 6–2. Ptak followed with a solo shot to make things 7–2 before Pitt got out of the inning.

But Pitt’s offense made sure the scoreboard did not stay that way for long. The Panthers played small ball in the bottom of the fourth, using a combination of hits, walks, hit by pitches, and stolen bases to get three runs home and make it 7–5. 

That trend continued into the fifth, as Pitt used a passed ball and a sacrifice bunt to tie the game at 7–7 going into the sixth inning.

Both pitching staffs kept the offenses silent in the sixth, before Martinez hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh to score Espinoza and give BC an 8–7 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.

Pitt’s offense came through in the clutch, as the Panthers hit four consecutive singles to score two runs and walk off BC 9–8 to steal the first game of the series.