Boston College Athletics
11-Game Homestand Continues Friday vs. UMass
March 11, 2021 | Softball
Bay State foes meet at 3 p.m. on ACC Network Extra
11-Game Homestand Continues vs. UMass
• Boston College continues its 11-game homestand as the Eagles welcome Bay State foe UMass to Harrington Athletics Village on Friday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. with live coverage on ACC Network Extra.
• In the earliest home opener in school history on Wednesday, BC crushed Bryant 8-0 in six innings. UMass opened the 2021 season with an 18-0 loss at Delaware on March 7.
Team 38
• This is the 38th season of Boston College softball. All-time, BC is 869-835-3.
• The Eagles have three NCAA appearances in program history.
• In ACC play, BC is 331-420 since joining the conference in the 2005-06 academic year.
Inside the UMass Series
• Friday's meeting is the 47th meeting between BC and UMass. The Minutewomen lead the all-time series, 39-7.
• BC has won three of the last four meetings between the two schools.
• In the last meeting on April 17, 2019, senior Kendra Friedt earned her first win of the season as she struck out four of the seven batters she faced to lead BC past UMass, 6-2, at Sortino Field in Amherst.
Last Time Out: CC Leads the Way
• Senior pitcher CC Cook tossed four no-hit innings and fanned four as Boston College opened its 2021 home schedule with a dominant 8-0 victory over Bryant in six innings Wednesday at Harrington Athletics Village.
• Cook was in total control and allowed just a walk to pick up her first win of the season.
• The Eagles opened the scoring in the second on a RBI single from Kristin Giery.
• BC added two runs on one swing in the third when AJ Alatorre blasted a two-run home run to left field to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead. The home run was Alatorre's first of the season and third of her career.
• The Eagles added another run in the fourth on a RBI single from Jules Trevino to push the lead to 4-0.
• A four-run sixth inning ended the game after six innings for Boston College. Ellie Mataya capped off a three-hit day with a two-run double to center and Djhane Valido ended the game with a two-run single to left field to secure the 8-0 victory for the Eagles.
• Boston College finished with season-highs in runs (8) and hits (9).
ACC Pod Play Begins Conference Action
• BC played five games between NC State and North Carolina in pod play to begin the conference slate Feb. 17-20 in North Carolina.
• Susannah Anderson threw her second complete game shutout of the season as Boston College defeated NC State 1-0 in game one of a doubleheader to begin the pod. Anderson was at her best with runners on base as she stranded 14 Wolfpack runners in the victory.
• Junior catcher Gianna Boccagno used a 10-pitch at bat to launch her first home run of the season in the top of the second to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. The solo shot to left center was Boccagno's 12th career home run and the second of the season for Boston College.
• The home run proved to be the difference as Anderson held NC State to just four hits and struck out four for the victors. It was the 16th career complete game for Anderson and her ninth career shutout.
• Anderson (2-2) moved into a tie for third place in BC history with her ninth career shutout.
• BC dropped the second game of the doubleheader to NC State 6-3. Against North Carolina, the Eagles dropped a pair of games, 7-3 and 11-2, before a heartbreaking 7-6 loss at NC State to finish the week.
• NC State got back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the seventh with two outs as the Wolfpack defeated Boston College 7-6 for the series win. Sam Russ walked it off with a solo shot to center after Sam Gress hit a two-run shot to tie it with two strikes and two outs.
Back on the Dirt
• BC returned to the diamond for the first time since March 8, 2020 with four games in Jacksonville against Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida.
• BC opened the season with a 4-0 loss at JU before picking up the first win of the year at UNF. Susannah Anderson was dominant in the circle for the Eagles, going the distance with a two-hit shutout in the 2-0 win over the Ospreys.
• UNF captured a 3-1 doubleheader split on Saturday before the Eagles came up just short, losing 3-2 to JU on Sunday. BC stranded 14 runners in the loss to the Dolphins.
Getting Started on the Right Note
• Sophomore shortstop Djhane Valido had a big weekend with the bat against Jacksonville and North Florida.
• Valido led BC with a .333 batting average, totaling three hits on the weekend, including a double and one RBI. She had a career-high three hits against UNF.
Leading Things Off
• Junior center fielder Ellie Mataya has led off for BC in all 10 games this year. She is one of two regulars hitting over .300 at .429 this season. She leads the team in total bases (18), doubles (3), RBI (6) and is second on the team in slugging percentage (.514).
What to Know
• This is the second season for head coach Amy Kvilhaug, who was hired on July 2, 2019. Kvilhaug led BC to a 9-12 record last season before COVID-19 ended the season. Prior to BC, Kvilhaug was the head coach at Radford and St. John's, where she won a combined 408 games.
• BC returned 17 letterwinners, including all nine position starters, along with three primary pitchers from last season's squad.
• Two-time All-ACC honoree Emme Martinez returns to help lead the BC offensive attack. A 2019 All-ACC second team selection as a sophomore, she played in all 53 games that season, starting 52 of them, while hitting .321 with 50 its and 24 RBI. Last season, she played in 17 games with 15 starts in the shortened season.
• Junior pitcher Susannah Anderson headlines the BC rotation in 2021. Last season, she led the staff with a 1.80 ERA in 85.2 innings of work. She finished the season 8-8 and totaled 76 strikeouts.
• The Eagles have five newcomers on the roster.
• BC was picked 13th in the preseason ACC poll, earning 22 total points.
Anderson Says "No-No"
• In BC's final game of the FGCU Kickoff Classic last season, junior Susannah Anderson pitched a gem for the Eagles. She threw her first-career complete-game no-hitter in BC's 1-0 win, totaling 10 strikeouts on no walks and two HBP.
• The no-hitter capped a 2-1 weekend for the Alexandria, Virginia native, who threw 21 total innings while striking out 25 batters.
• Anderson is BC's No. 1 starter. In 72 career appearances, including 51 starts, she has a 3.24 ERA in 294.0 innings of work. With a 16-31 career record, she has thrown 17 complete games, including nine shutouts.
• Anderson has totaled 205 career strikeouts. She is the 11th Eagle in school history with 200+ career strikeouts.
• Anderson ranks third in the ACC and 23rd nationally with two shutouts this season.
AA
• AJ Alatorre has been swinging a hot bat to start the 2021 season. The California native is second on the team in batting (.353). She hit her first home run of the season against Bryant.
• She leads BC with a .529 slugging percentage and is third on the team with a .421 on-base percentage.
All-ACC Emme
• Emme Martinez, who was an All-ACC Freshman team honoree in 2018, finished her sophomore campaign with a .321 average, along with 50 hits and a team-high 24 RBI en route to All-ACC second team honors in 2019.
• A native of Hemet, California, Martinez had 12 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI games in 2019.
• For her career, Martinez is the active leader on the team in hits (100), doubles (18) and RBI (54).
Scouting UMass
• The Minutewomen return 12 from the 2020 roster and add six newcomers to the fold for the 2021 campaign. UMass returns Caroline Videtto, who led the team in batting average a year ago and tied the UMass single-game record for RBI in a game with seven as she earned her first Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors.
• The Minutewomen wrapped up the shortened 2020 season on a high note as they reached the championship of the USF Tournament after defeating the host Bulls 14-5. UMass scored a season-high 14 runs on 15 hits in the win led by three hits each from returners Alyssa Lyon and Kristina Day.
• UMass was picked third in the Atlantic 10 Softball Preseason Poll. The Minutewomen received 77 points in the poll and one first-place vote.
