Coming into its weekend series against No. 2 Florida State, the Eagles faced their toughest challenge of the season. Up until Sunday morning, the Seminoles had seen only one loss on the season.
Despite losing the series, the Eagles (13–11, 2–4 Atlantic Coast) remained persistent all weekend, earning one win out of the teams’ three matchups. After being shut out by Florida State (27–2, 16–2) 4–0 on Saturday, BC defeated the Seminoles 2–0 in its first game on Sunday. The Eagles closed out the weekend with another 4–0 loss.
Even with BC facing its highest-ranked opponent of the season, head coach Amy Kvilhaug said after the game that her team did not prepare for the game any differently than it had in the past. With a heavy emphasis on both offensive and defensive discipline, as well as pitching, she said the team focused on consistency during the series with the Seminoles.
The first inning of Sunday’s second game was slow for both teams, but Florida State broke the lull in the bottom of the second. BC’s Abby Dunning walked Michaela Edenfield to start off the inning. She was thrown out at second, but her teammate Devyn Flaherty reached first, stole second, and made it to third on a fielding error by the Eagles. Hallie Wacaser followed with a foul out, but she brought Flaherty home on the at-bat to end the inning with the Seminoles up 1–0.
In the third inning, BC continued its scoreless stretch, while Florida State powered ahead. In the bottom of the inning, Josie Muffley bunted to reach first. She advanced to second on a single through the left side by Kaley Mudge and scored on Sydney Sherrill’s RBI single up the middle. On Kalei Harding’s at-bat, Sherill advanced to third, and Mudge attempted to score but was tagged out by BC catcher Hannah Slike.
While the Eagles’ offense was still quiet, the Seminoles snagged two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Jahni Kerr singled up the middle and later advanced to second after Brooke Blankenship walked.
Mudge then hit a single and advanced to second on the throw, which pushed Blankenship to third and Kerr to home. Dunning walked Sherrill and was replaced on the mound by Susannah Anderson. In the following play, Harding reached on an error by third base, which allowed Blankenship to score. The inning ended with the Seminoles on top, 4–0, and the score remained the same for the rest of the game.
Although BC’s offense failed to find a scoring opportunity for the remainder of the game, Anderson kept her team’s defense tight and didn’t allow any more runs.
“At the end of the day, this is the level we want to compete at,” Kvilhaug said. “Our student-athletes proved to themselves this weekend that they can play with anyone in the country.”
Earlier in the morning, BC became the second team to upset the Seminoles in the 2022 season.
The game went scoreless through seven innings, sending both teams to extra innings. In the top of the eighth, the Eagles broke open the scoring off a single from Nicole Giery that scored Maddy Carpe. Erika Andal singled to center later in the inning, scoring Gianna Sarlo to secure BC the 2–0 victory—its first win against a ranked opponent this season.
Pitcher Peyton Schnackenberg threw all eight innings for the Eagles, holding Florida State to just one hit in the game. With the win, she advanced to 6–1 on the season, and she leads BC’s pitchers with a 2.55 ERA.
BC’s Saturday outing played a similar tune to its Sunday shutout loss. Florida State scored once in the first inning and three times in the third inning. Kerr hit a two-run double to put the Eagles at a four-run deficit. The Seminoles never looked back, and neither team scored for the rest of the game.
Featured Image by Ikram Ali / Heights Senior Staff
