After three dominant wins against non-conference opponents, Boston College softball looked to extend its winning streak on Thursday against cross-town rival Boston University. The historic competition between the two teams ensured that the game would be hard-fought, and while Thursday’s competition appeared lopsided in favor of the Terriers (8-1, 0-0 Patriot), the Eagles (5-8, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) did not surrender without a fight.
BC fell 5-0 to the Terriers, snapping the Eagles’ three-game win streak.
Both coaches opted for their ace in the circle, with BC head coach Amy Kvilhaug setting Susannah Anderson to face off against BU’s Ali DuBois. The first two frames proved to be a pitcher’s duel—neither team earning a hit in that span.
Anderson was dominant in the circle for the Eagles, facing the minimum number of batters in the first two innings. In the first, she struck two out swinging before BU’s Aliyah Huerta-Leipner grounded out to end the inning.
“[Susannah] is a very smart athlete,” Kvilhaug said in her postgame press conference. “She knows what it takes to win, and she knows that if you let emotion overrun you that it’s not the road that you want to go down.”
DuBois, the 2021 Patriot League Preseason Pitcher of the Year, was relentless for the Terriers. She dominated the BC offense, allowing just three hits and fanning eight on her way to the win.
BU was not quiet on offense for long, as they quickly strung together three runs in the top of the third inning. Jen Horita started the inning with a double down the left-field line, and a well-placed sacrifice bunt moved her to third.
The Terriers’ aggressive baserunning was on full display, as a grounder to the right side was all BU needed to score its first run. The Eagles couldn’t stop the damage at one—the culmination of timely hits and defensive errors leading BU to add two insurance runs.
“We knew what each one of these kids have,” Kvilhaug said of the BU offense. “So we needed to defend them, and we didn’t do such a good job of defending today.”
For the first time in three games, the Eagles had to work from behind. Bats that had previously accounted for 27 runs over the past week couldn’t put together a single run, and the Eagles’ offense struggled to adjust to the umpire’s wide strike zone.
“I know this official, so I know she has a wide zone,” Kvilhaug said. “You can’t get surprised that she’s going to bang you out on a pitch that was a little bit blind. … Sometimes you have the knowledge and you don’t always execute the way you want to.”
While the bats weren’t producing for the Eagles, Anderson and the defense kept BC in the game and prevented the Terriers from completely controlling the pace. Anderson worked her way out of three tough innings with runners in scoring position and finished the day with six strikeouts. Great defensive plays by the left side of the infield limited BU’s presence on the bases, as Djhane Valido and Emme Martinez accounted for nine combined assists during the game.
Featured Image by Kristian Lamarre / Heights Staff
