Eagles Drop Red Bandana Game, Go 2–1 in Weekend Series Against Army and Villanova — The Heights

In their annual Red Bandana Game, which honors the life and legacy of Welles Crowther, senior catcher Hannah Slike dawned the no. 19 patch for Boston College softball.

“Hannah Slike has been someone who’s always been, you know, a woman for the team” Head Coach Amy Kvilhaug said “She’s always just been somebody for others, whether it be through her on field leadership, her performance, or community service”

The Eagles (17–18; 3–9 Atlantic Coast) couldn’t contain the bats of the Villanova Wildcats (18–17–1; 8–4 Big East), losing 11–2 on Sunday afternoon.

Wasting no time in the top of the first, Villanova jumped out to a 2–0 lead after a two-run shot sailed over the head of Zoe Hines in left field.

Kendziorski bounced back, though, as she would strike out the next batter and induce two groundouts to limit the damage at two.

The Eagles couldn’t get much going on offense, as though Emma Jackson reached first after drawing a walk, a groundout and two quick pop ups ended the first with no runs surrendered by the Wildcats.

Villanova got right back to work in the second, as consecutive singles with one out led Kvilhaug to opt for a pitching change, pulling Kendziorski after only 1.1 innings pitched.

Pitching in relief for Kendziorkski, Kelly Colleran entered the game hot, striking out the first batter she faced and inducing a groundout to close out the top of the second.

BC’s offense was again stifled by Wildcats starting pitcher Kat Gallant, as only one baserunner reached safely, maintaining the Eagles’ 2–0 deficit heading into the third.

It was a different story for the Villanova offense, though, as their second solo home run of the game pushed the lead to 3–0 in the top of the third.

Colleran would settle down and surrendered no further damage in the inning, stranding two Wildcats on the bases.

The Eagles’ misfortunes continued in the bottom of the third, as a call for defensive contact at first base against Kali Case which resulted in a strikeout and a highlight-reel catch from Villanova shortstop Ava Franz found them with two outs quickly.

“Sometimes it’s just a rough day, but the inconsistency is what makes it a challenge to coach” Kvilhaug said “You kind of don’t know what’s going to show up”

Gator Robinson, however, had other ideas, as she sent a solo shot into left field for her first home run of the season and the Eagles’ first run of the game.

The Wildcats, while threatening to score with a runner on third, couldn’t get to Colleran in the top of the fourth, sending the game to the bottom of the inning with the score still at 3–1.

BC again went down quickly, as a 1–2–3 inning from Gallant brought the Villanova offense back to the plate, eyeing to extend their lead.

And an extension was what they got, as a two-run shot to right field from Brooklyn Ostrowski pushed the Wildcat’s lead to 5–1 in the top of the fifth inning.

Solid catches in the outfield allowed the Eagles to escape with no additional damage, though time was running out quickly for their bats to wake up.

BC got the opposite of what they needed, however, as Gallant mowed through the Eagles lineup with another 1–2–3 inning, this time with two consecutive strikeouts, to sustain Villanova’s four run advantage.

A leadoff double in the top of the sixth led Coach Kvilhaug to make her second pitching change of the day, putting Gabriella Aughton in the circle in hopes that she could contain the fiery Wildcat offense.

It was quickly apparent that this wouldn’t be the case, as strategic baserunning on a single which allowed a runner to score and a two-run shot to left center field, Villanova’s fourth of the game, widened the deficit to seven runs.

Again turning to her bullpen, Kvilhaug replaced Aughton with Shannon MacLeod, desperate to escape the inning and bring BC’s offense back to the plate, something MacLeod accomplished quickly.

Almost like clockwork, Gallant made quick work of BC’s lineup in her third consecutive 1–2–3 inning of the game in the bottom of the sixth, shutting down any potential comeback hopes for the Eagles.

Villanova continued to pour it on in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with two outs after already scoring two earlier in the inning.

After a single through the infield allowed one runner to score while keeping the bases loaded, a popup in foul territory stranded the other three and sent the game to the bottom of the seventh with a score of 11–1.

Needing a significant offensive explosion to win the game, the Eagles chipped away at the deficit with their second home run of the game, a solo shot to left field from Zoe Hines.

That would be the extent of their damage, though, as Gallant solidified Villanova’s 11–2 victory by inducing a quick groundout to second base.

“It’s a constant game of adjustments, and it’s a game of learning, you know” Coach Kvilhaug said “It’s watching what worked, what didn’t work, and going to work on the things that are weaknesses.”

In their second game of the Friday doubleheader, the Eagles bested the Wildcats by a score of 9–0 in five innings thanks to a shutout performance in the circle from Kelly Colleran.

BC’s bats found success quickly, as an Emma Jackson walk and a Hannah Slike double allowed them both to reach home thanks to a fielding error from Villanova, giving them an early edge in the bottom of the first.

The Eagles offense truly exploded in the bottom of the second, though, as they would score five runs off of five hits, including three consecutive singles, that gave BC a 7–0 lead through two innings.

A solo home-run from Slike and an RBI single from Kali Case in the bottom of the third inning gave BC a 9–0 advantage over Villanova and, thanks to shutdown pitching from Colleran, secured the Eagles a mercy-rule victory over the Wildcats in five innings.

To open the weekend series, BC faced off against Army (21–16; 5–0 Patriot League), defeating the Black Knights 7–0 in the first ever matchup between the two squads.

The Eagles’ offense struck fast in the bottom of the first, as a double from Adriana Martinez gave BC an early 2–0 lead and set the tone for their success at the plate.

After another quick scoreless half from the Army offense, the Eagles picked up right where they left off in the bottom of the second, scoring four runs off singles from Emma Jackson and Jordan Stephens and a Hannah Slike double.

Though the rest of the game was relatively quiet on offense for both squads, a throwing error in the bottom of the fifth inning allowed Slike to score from third, giving the Eagles their seventh and final run of the game.

Pitching a complete game shutout, Kendziorski silenced the Black Knights bats and, supported by a strong defensive showing in the field which yielded no errors, enabled the Eagles to cruise to a 7–0 victory.