For much of this season, Boston College softball has struggled with errors. The Eagles returned to ACC action this weekend eager to start their four-game series against Syracuse off on a good note.
Both teams struggled to find the plate through five scoreless innings. After seven innings, they still found themselves tied, and in extra innings, the Eagles’ errors came back to bite them, and they fell 2-1.
The first game of Friday’s doubleheader marks the 25th time BC (6-20, 2-12 Atlantic Coast) and Syracuse (14-9, 7-6) have met on the diamond. The Eagles lead the series 14-11, and BC has won the last nine of the last 11 games in the series dating back to 2016. But, the Eagles couldn’t continue their dominance against the Orange on Friday.
The Eagles entered the game after dropping a tenacious 7-6 loss to Rhode Island on Wednesday. The Rams scored three unearned runs in the sixth to earn the comeback victory. Again in Friday’s game, the Eagles couldn’t hold onto their lead at the end of the game.
The Eagles put the first run of the game on the board in the fifth inning. Under pressure with two outs, Kristin Giery crushed a double to the left-field wall. Ellie Mataya drove Giery in with a triple, making the score 1-0.
Both pitchers allowed minimal hits, making it hard for either team to get any action started. Syracuse’s pitcher, fifth-year player Alexa Romero, gave the Eagles a run for their money at the plate. Romero had 12 strikeouts against the 31 batters she faced and gave up only five hits in eight innings. Susannah Anderson, ranked third in the ACC for strikeouts looking, also made things difficult for Syracuse at the plate by allowing only six hits.
In a game so close in hits, you can’t afford to give up any errors—but the Eagles did.
BC gave up three errors total. The Eagles bounced back from two errors with two strikeouts and a flyout, but they couldn’t come back from their third error, which ultimately cost them the game.
BC softball is tied for the fifth-highest number of errors committed in the ACC this season with 32 errors total.
BC held Syracuse off the plate until the seventh inning when the Orange tied up the game with an unearned run. Paris Woods crushed the ball to the right-field wall. BC right fielder Erika Andal appeared blinded by the sun and couldn’t track the ball, allowing Woods to reach third. Rebecca Clyde hit a ground ball to advance Woods across home plate, making the score 1-1.
The Eagles showed hope of clinching the win in the bottom of the seventh with no outs and Gianna Randazza on first when Djhane Valido bruised a line drive to third baseman Clyde. Clyde resiliently caught the line drive and arrested Randazza at first. This double play sparked Syracuse’s energy heading into the eighth inning, where the Orange pulled out the win.
In the top of the eighth, Angel Jasso brought her teammate Neli Casares-Maher across home plate with an RBI, making the score 2-1.
Syracuse doused the Eagles’ hopes in the bottom of the eighth with a three-up, three-down inning.
Friday’s game marked the team’s annual ALS Awareness Game, played in memory of Pete Frates, BC ’07. Frates, a former BC baseball player, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at age 27. Frates had been a leader in the fight for a cure for ALS since 2012, most notably through his role in the Ice Bucket Challenge campaign in 2014.
Featured Image by Jess Rivilis / Heights Senior Staff
