Boston College Softball Splits Doubleheader to Open 2026 Season

The Eagles won their first game and suffered a shutout loss in their second game to start the new campaign.

Boston College Softball (BC_Softball) via X

The Boston College Eagles (1-1) softball team split its season-opening doubleheader on Friday afternoon.

In the first game of the day, Boston College defeated Eastern Kentucky 8-4.

The Eagles got on the board in the top of the first inning 1-0 on an RBI double by first baseman Emma Knight. 

BC extended its lead in the fourth 5-0 with a big four-run inning. Third baseman Meghan Schouten started the scoring in the frame with an RBI double. Right fielder Carly Bunnell followed that up with an RBI single while shortstop Janis Espinoza batted in a run on a sacrifice fly and second baseman Sammy Horn capped off the inning with an RBI single. 

The Eagles tacked on four more runs in the sixth and seventh. In the sixth, catcher Abby Ptak hit an RBI single to make it a 6-0 ballgame. In the seventh, pinch hitter Tannis Jackin batted in a run on an RBI single and scored on a failed pickoff attempt by Eastern Kentucky after stealing third to cement BC’s eight runs. 

Eastern Kentucky scored all four of its runs in the home half of seventh, but was not enough to secure a comeback. Designated player Lilly Davis brought in a run on a bases-loaded drawn walk and pinch hitter Jada McLeod scored a pair of runs on an RBI single. Pinch hitter Kaitlyn Wallis also scored in the inning. 

Pitcher Kelly Colleran started in the circle for BC. In her first outing of the season, she pitched five scoreless frames and allowed four hits. Alyx Rossi, Sophia Bertorelli, and Shannon MacLeod entered out of the bullpen and allowed a combined four earned runs, four walks, and three hits.

In the second game of the day, Boston College fell to Penn State 7-0.

The Nittany Lions opened the scoring in the top of the second inning with a two-run home run and scored one run in the fifth and sixth. Penn State tacked on three more runs in the seventh to cement the 7-0 victory. 

Halie Pappion started in the circle for Boston College. In her first outing of the season, she went 4.2 innings and allowed four hits, three runs (all earned), walked five batters, and struck out three. Bailey Kendziorski and Emily Van Cleef entered out of the bullpen.

Next up, Boston College continues its run in the Clearwater Classic on Saturday with another doubleheader. The Eagles will play Tennessee at 1 p.m. ET and Southeastern Louisiana at 6 p.m. Both games will be streamed on GameChanger.