Saturday, Game 2: L, 17–6
Just half an hour after being mercy-ruled 17–4 in five innings, Boston College softball returned to the field on Saturday afternoon to wrap up its weekend.
It was more than just a game for the Eagles. Just days before the Boston Marathon takes over Chestnut Hill, BC donned neon yellow jerseys for its “617 Game,” honoring the city’s resilience.
“Having the opportunity to wear the marathon jerseys, it’s just such a privilege and definitely means a little more having the whole city on your back,” BC softball head coach Beth Krysiak said.
That energy was palpable. While most teams might have accepted a third defeat of the series, BC (12–32, 3–14 Atlantic Coast) kept fighting, rallying with a five-run second inning before inevitably dropping the contest 17–6 to conference opponent No. 14 Duke (35–12, 18–3).
The first at-bat of the game saw Duke draw a walk, and the rest of the matchup continued in a similar fashion. Jessica Oakland ripped a homer to score D’Auna Jennings and put the Blue Devils up 2–0.
In BC’s second at-bat, Emma Knight gave the fans at Harrington Athletics Village something to smile about. The freshman returned fire with a solo home run to close the deficit to 2–1.
Adriana Martinez followed up the homer with a walk, and Janis Espinoza put up the first single of the game to get Martinez to third. Despite the chance, the Eagles were unable to execute, closing out the first with a groundout to end the inning.
The Blue Devils were all around the bases in the second, drawing two walks, hitting three singles, and forcing an error to plate three runs and take a 5–1 lead.
In the bottom of the frame, BC put up five runs, scoring in multiple innings for the first time in the series. Nicole Riddell singled and made it to second on a passed ball, Katelyn Deguire notched a sac bunt that put Riddell on third, and Carly Bunnell slammed a single to bring Riddell home.
Knight came up after Bunnell and notched her second RBI of the game, doubling to score Bunnell from first. Abby Ptak added a single of her own, scoring Knight to make it 5–4.
The Eagles weren’t done. Martinez greeted new Duke pitcher Larissa Jacquez with a homer to left field to give BC a 6–5 lead.
“I think the whole lineup just kind of put it together in that second inning, so it was nice to see the bats wake up a little bit,” Krysiak said.
Duke was quick to nip the momentum in the bud. The Blue Devils launched an offensive attack with Layla Lamar and KK Mathis both drawing walks, and a single by Gabriella Shadek loading the bases before Jayla Stafford brought in the first run of the third with a sacrifice fly.
The Blue Devils kept the line moving, as Jennings reached on a single, Aminah Vega was hit by a pitch to force in a run, and Oakland cleared the bases with a two-RBI double before later scoring. Following a pitching change, Tyrina Jones and Lamar capped the rally with a double and single to deep center field to score two more runs.
After taking a lead in the bottom of the second, BC came back up to bat with a six-run deficit. The offensive explosion simmered out as both teams’ hitters went 1-2-3 at the end of the third and the top of the fourth.
Scoring picked back up in the top of the fifth when Vega sent a homer to center for a pair of runs, and back-to-back singles from Jones and Lamar had the Blue Devils at 15–6.
Duke racked up unnecessary insurance when Mathis grounded out, scoring Jones, and twisted the knife as Shadek homered to reach 17–6. The five-run inning shattered any hope of a miracle, and BC couldn’t put up anything in the fifth as the mercy-rule deficit came to a close.
“I think we fought,” Krysiak said. “We’re gonna keep getting better. It’s year one of the new staff and a really young team, so we’re looking forward to the future.”
Saturday, Game 1: L, 17–4
Duke started the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader with a first-inning home run and didn’t look back as the Blue Devils cruised to a 13-run win.
Duke scored five-plus runs in three innings as it downed BC 17–4 for its second straight double-digit victory.
Kelly Colleran struck out Jennings and forced a flyout from Vega to start the game, but Oakland ensured the Blue Devils got on the board first with a solo homer to go up 1–0.
In the bottom of the inning, Sammy Horn answered with a single, and Knight drew a walk, but the rally fizzled out after a double play and a groundout.
The Blue Devils’ offense came alive in the second inning. Lamar singled, later scoring on a wild pitch after Mathis walked, and Shadek drove Mathis home with a double to extend Duke’s lead to 3–0.
A couple walks and two outs later, Vega hit a three-run homer to leave BC in the dust and make it 6–0 Blue Devils.
Nothing came of BC’s chance to return fire, as Janis Espinoza flew out, Holly Paharik grounded out, and Riddell singled up the middle before a pop-up wrapped up the second inning.
Duke led off the third with back-to-back singles from Lamar and Mathis, and after a pinch runner and stolen base, Shadek hit a three-RBI homer. A BC pitching change saw Shannon MacLeod come up for relief, just for Stafford and Adelyn Matthews to put up singles of their own, paving the way for Oakland to drive in another run.
An error brought in one more run before Lamar lined out to end the inning 11–0.
Kae DePerio grounded out to start the inning for BC, but singles from Horn and Knight generated some hope. But Knight was promptly forced out at second on Ptak’s fielder’s choice as Horn moved to third, and Martinez grounded out to end the inning.
Duke continued to build in the fourth, erupting with a series of hits and walks punctuated by a three-run homer from Oakland to make it 17–0.
The Eagles then saw their best defensive and offensive showings in the fifth. Relief pitcher Sophia Bertorelli shut Duke down, pitching a 1-2-3 inning with two flyouts and a groundout.
It looked like BC would do the same, but a two-out single from Knight started a rally. Ptak reached on a dropped third strike and Martinez scored Knight with a single before Espinoza followed with a three-RBI homer to cut the deficit to 17–4.
It was too little too late, though, and a groundout drew the game to a close to give the Blue Devils the series.
Friday: L, 11–2
The Blue Devils’ offense came to play to start the weekend, scoring in the first four innings of the series’ opening game.
The Eagles could not find the same success, as they were kept off the scoreboard until the sixth inning as Duke rolled to an 11–2 victory on Friday.
Oakland got the scoring started in the first, scoring Vega after a BC fielding error.
Jennings plated another run in the second, grounding into a fielder’s choice for an RBI. BC got a hit in each of the first two innings, but couldn’t advance either runner past second base as Duke held at 2–0.
Jones broke the game open for the Blue Devils in the third. After a walk and a single to begin the inning, Jones launched a three-run homer to make it 5–0. Duke threatened to add on, loading the bases with one out, but relief pitcher Alyx Rossi induced a double play to end the attack.
Oakland and Vega combined for another run in the fourth, lacing back-to-back doubles as Oakland scored Vega for her second RBI of the day.
Duke had its first scoreless inning in the fifth, as Rossi escaped her second bases-loaded jam of the day. Unfortunately for BC, Ava Bradshaw got out of a jam of her own, forcing a groundout to end the inning despite having two runners in scoring position.
Duke went back to the long ball in the sixth, as Lamar hit a solo home run to make it 7–0. Two batters later, Shadek sent one over the center-field fence for a two-run shot to stretch the lead to nine and force Rossi out of the game.
BC got on the board in the sixth. Holly Paharik scored Tannis Jackin with a groundout, and Kae DePerio singled home Deguire to make it 9–2.
The Blue Devils got three more runs in the top of the seventh, plating runs on a groundout and sac fly before Lamar hit her second homer of the day to give Duke a double-digit lead. Knight drew a walk to start the last half of the inning, but BC went in order the rest of the day to finish off the 12–2 defeat.
