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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Irish unable to contain Eagles, drop final two games of weekend series

After scoring just three runs or less in four of their previous five games, the Irish bats came alive against Boston College over the weekend, scoring 18 runs over the course of three games.

However, Notre Dame’s offensive burst wasn’t enough to secure a series victory as the Irish (29-18, 12-8 ACC) lost two out of three against the Eagles (25-18, 11-6 ACC).

The Irish won the series opener on Friday 8-4, with four runs in the first inning and three runs in the sixth. Senior designated player Morgan Reed and junior third baseman Melissa Rochford each knocked RBI hits in the opening inning and a passed ball aided the Irish scoring effort to give freshman starting pitcher Alexis Holloway a comfortable lead on the mound.

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Sarah Olson | The Observer
Irish freshman pitcher Alexis Holloway winds up release a pitch during Notre Dame's 8-4 loss against Loyola on April 11. The right-handed pitcher has a 2.33 earned run average on the season.


The right-hander picked up her 17th win of the season as a starter, and kept Boston College to just one run until the sixth inning when the Eagles picked up a pair.

However, Notre Dame also found a late-game surge of offense. The Irish put up three runs in the top of the sixth with junior second baseman Ali Wester, junior left fielder Cait Brooks and sophomore shortstop Katie Marino all recording RBIs in the inning.

After the Eagles answered to make it 7-3 going into the seventh inning, Notre Dame added an insurance run as junior first baseman MK Bonamy scored on an RBI grounder from sophomore right fielder Alexis Bazos. Boston College added another run to make the final score 8-4.

The rest of the series did not go as well for the Irish, however. On Saturday, Notre Dame fell 6-4.

The Irish fell behind early after senior Katie Beriont gave up three runs in the bottom of the third inning to make it 3-1. Notre Dame battled back in the top of the fourth inning. Bonamy singled and scored on an error and Wester singled to score Bazos to tie the game up at three.

But Notre Dame allowed three unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and the Eagles surged right back to a 6-3 lead that Notre Dame was unable to overcome and Boston College took the second game of the series 6-4.

In Sunday’s rubber match, Notre Dame’s defense proved suspect as the Eagles scored six unearned runs on two Irish errors and secured a 9-6 victory and series win.

Notre Dame scored in the first inning to make it 1-0. The Irish scored first in each game on the weekend. But Boston College quickly jumped out to a 3-1 run on a three-run, three-hit bottom of the first inning.

Notre Dame tied the game up in the next frame. With two outs, Bazos slapped a single to center field which scored both Brooks and Rochford.

The Irish continued the momentum in the third frame, adding three more runs. Marino, Rochford and Reed loaded the bases with Bonamy up at the plate. Bonamy missed out on a grand slam by inches, instead hitting a long single, but scoring Marino and Reed. Rockford later scored at the end of the third inning to extend the Irish lead three.

But Boston College came back for the second time in as many days to seal the series win. An error on a pop fly which would have ended the fourth inning came back to bite the Irish as Eagles freshman catcher Emme Martinez launched a three-run home run on the next pitch.

Boston College tacked on an insurance run in the sixth to make the final score 9-6.

Next up for Notre Dame is a home game on Tuesday against Bowling Green. Then, the Irish will host No. 11 Florida State in the final ACC series of the year.

The Irish and the Falcons (24-19, 7-9 MAC) are set to play at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Melissa Cook Stadium.