April 20, 2018
BRIGHTON, Mass. – A smothering four-run surge in the top of the first inning set the tone early for the University of Notre Dame softball team on Friday night. The Irish would club 10 total hits and never lead by fewer than three runs, downing Boston College 8-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play at Brighton Field at Harrington Athletics Village.
Notre Dame (29-16, 12-6 ACC) improved to 10-3 in true road games thus far in 2018, including a 7-2 mark in ACC play away from home. The Irish handed Boston College (23-18, 9-6 ACC) just its third loss in its past 17 starts overall, with Notre Dame winning for the 12th time in 13 tries in the series since 2013.
How It Happened
Notre Dame raced out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Abby Sweet was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Katie Marino drew a four-pitch walk and both Irish runners moved into scoring position with a wild pitch. Cait Brooks grooved a sacrifice fly to center to score Sweet for the 1-0 Notre Dame lead. An RBI double for Morgan Reed and an RBI triple for Melissa Rochford, and a passed ball that allowed Rochford to score, ended the Irish surge.
A sacrifice fly to right field for Boston College in the bottom of the second inning got the Eagles on the board at 4-1. Alexis Holloway (17-10) got out of the frame with a fly ball out to center.
Both teams would jockey for position from there, with Notre Dame leaving two on in the top of the third inning and the bases loaded in the top of the fifth but then bouncing back on defense in the bottom of the fifth to strand two Boston College runners aboard. A swinging strikeout dealt by Holloway sealed the Eagle ups in the bottom of the fifth frame.
Notre Dame scorched the Eagles for three runs in the top of the sixth inning. Holloway helped her own cause with a leadoff double to right center, ultimately scoring on an Ali Wester sacrifice fly for the 5-1 Irish lead. Marino dropped an RBI double to right that scored Alexis Bazos and kept the momentum rolling at 6-1. Brooks registered her second RBI of the night with a sharp single up the middle, scoring Marino for the 7-1 Notre Dame lead.
An Irish fielding error and a suspect overturn of a diving line drive catch that should have been the third out of the bottom of the sixth allowed Boston College to tack on two unearned runs and close the gap to 7-3. After Notre Dame re-emerged from the dugout following the overturn, Madison Heide gunned down the attempted base-stealer from first to register what was in effect the fourth out of the inning.
Notre Dame added an additional insurance run in the top of the seventh inning. Sara White led off with a four-pitch walk as a pinch hitter, and a Holloway single off the wall in center brought MK Bonamy all the way to third base. A tricky RBI grounder off the bat of Bazos allowed Bonamy to come home and push the Irish ahead 8-3.
Boston College scratched a run across in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI double that brought the score to 8-4. Following a single that prolonged the inning, Holloway forced a line drive out to Sweet in center to end the game.
Up Next
Notre Dame and Boston College square off in game two of the three-game series on Saturday at 1 p.m. (ET) at Brighton Field at Harrington Athletics Village.