In the top of the first inning of Boston College softball’s Friday matchup against No. 2 Virginia Tech, Kali Case dove across the left-field line to intercept a foul ball and record the Eagles’ third out of the inning. Just three outs in, the tone was set.
Fast forward one inning, and the Eagles were on the field again. On a routine ground ball with runners on second and third, shortstop Djhane Valido made a throwing error to first. On the error, the two runners miscommunicated, and suddenly two Virginia Tech players were on third base.
First baseman Kristin Giery chased down the lead runner and attempted to throw her out as the other retreated back to second, but the throw was late, and both runners ended up safe. In the next at-bat, with the bases loaded, Susannah Anderson walked Cameron Fagan to bring in Virginia Tech’s first run of the game. In just one inning, the tone had shifted.
A couple of walks and errors—and a 15-strikeout performance from the Hokies’ Keely Rochard—cost the Eagles on Friday, as BC (20–25, 6–16 Atlantic Coast) fell to Virginia Tech 3–0. In the opener of their final series of the regular season, the Eagles recorded only four hits. Anderson pitched seven solid innings from the mound.
The Hokies (38–6, 20–2) opened the scoring in the bottom of the second when Anderson walked Fagan, and they added to their run total in the bottom of the third.
Morgan Overaitis reached on an error to start the inning and advanced on a single from Meredith Slaw. On the next play, Valido threw Overaitis out at third, but Kelsey Bennett reached on a fielder’s choice, and Slaw advanced to second. Then, with Bennett on first and Jenna Pearson—pinch running for Slaw—on second, Darby Trull reached on a throwing error from Abigail Knight, which advanced the runners and allowed Pearson to score.
The Hokies maintained their 2–0 lead through the next three innings, and Rochard continued her dominance on the mound. BC largely limited a Virginia Tech offense that ranks third in the ACC in batting average, but the Eagles’ early errors and missteps came back to haunt them.
BC found some offensive success in the bottom of the sixth but failed to capitalize. Elizabeth Laviolette and Ellie Mataya successfully bunted in consecutive at-bats to put two on, and Rochard hit Gianna Boccagno with a pitch to load the bases. Under pressure and with a chance to take the lead, Kamryn Warman stepped up to the plate but struck out, ending the inning with three runners stranded.
Virginia Tech added one more run in the top of the second off a solo home run, and BC left the field with its eighth shutout loss of the season.
