BC Hosts Pitt for Four-Game Weekend Series
April 22, 2021 | Softball
Eagles play their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game on Friday
BC Back In Brighton For Weekend Series vs. Pitt
• Boston College returns to the friendly confines of Harrington Athletics Village for a four-game weekend series vs. Pitt. The series begins Friday at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader. Saturday the two teams also meet again for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. All four games will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
• BC (8-25, 4-17) lost four games last weekend at No. 17 Clemson in Death Valley. Pitt (14-25, 9-20) swept a four-game series from North Carolina last weekend in the Steel City.
Breast Cancer Awareness Game
• Friday's game for Boston College will be the team's annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game. The Eagles will wear pink shirts pre-game and pink socks, pink helmet decals and grey visors with a pink ribbon to show support for Breast Cancer survivors.
• Jenna Ergle, AJ Alatorre and Maddy Carpe also recorded video messages sharing their family connections with breast cancer survivors.
Team 38
• This is the 38th season of Boston College softball. All-time, BC is 874-853-3.
• The Eagles have three NCAA appearances in program history.
• In ACC play, BC is 334-433 since joining the conference in the 2005-06 academic year.
Inside the Pitt Series
• Boston College and Pitt meet for the 27th time in series history on Friday afternoon.
• The two rivals first met in 1999 with BC winning a doubleheader in Pittsburgh, 9-4 and 6-3.
• Pitt has won the last four meetings between the two schools.
• The last BC victory in the series was a 4-2 win in Pittsburgh in 2017.
• Boston College has not won against Pitt at home since taking two of three in a series against the Panthers in 2016.
Thou Shall Not Run on GB
• Junior catcher Gianna Boccagno has one of the strongest arms behind the plate in the country. The Florida native leads the ACC with 14 runners caught stealing in 2021.
• In all, opponents are just 20-of-34 in stolen base attempts against Boccagno this season. Maddy Carpe is holding opponents to just two stolen bases behind the dish for the Eagles also.
• BC leads the ACC with 16 runners caught stealing.
ACC Team Leaders Caught Stealing
1. Boston College 16
2. Pitt 13
3. Syracuse 12
The Ace
• Junior pitcher Susannah Anderson is among the ACC leaders in several categories this season. The ace of the BC pitching staff, Anderson is 5-15 with a 2.35 ERA in 21 appearances in 2021.
• Anderson is third in the ACC with 122.0 innings pitched.
• The Virginia native is fourth in the conference in shutouts (3) and third in complete games (12).
• She is third in the ACC in strikeouts looking (31) and eighth overall in strikeouts (83).
• Her 18 games started rank fourth among all ACC players and she is tied for 12th in appearances (21).
• She is 13th in the ACC in ERA (2.35).
Another No-No for No. 1
• Susannah Anderson tossed her second career no-hitter to lead the Eagles to a 10-0 victory over Massachusetts in five innings on March 12. Anderson struck out six and allowed just two base runners (two hit batters).
• Anderson moved into sole possession of third place in Boston College history with her 10th career shutout.
• The Eagles got out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning after back-to-back walks set the table. Kristin Giery drove in a run with an RBI single, followed by a two-run double from Emme Martinez into right center field.
• BC extended its lead to 4-0 after two innings of play as Giery notched her second RBI of the afternoon via a walk.
• The Eagles plated three more in the third as CC Cook drove two runs with a double and Ellie Mataya extended the lead to 7-0 with a RBI double.
• BC plated three more to make it 10-0 after four innings. The frame was highlighted by a two-RBI single by Nicole Giery.
• The Giery sisters highlighted the BC offense, as they were 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI combined.
• BC finished the game with a season-high seven doubles.
• Anderson got a first inning lead and never looked back, as she cruised to the complete game, no-hitter. She retired the last 10 batters she faced.
More Notes on No. 1
• In BC's final game of the FGCU Kickoff Classic last season, 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.
Incoming Recruiting Class Ranked 21st Nationally
• Boston College softball head coach Amy Kvilhaug announced in November that five student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to play softball for the Eagles beginning in the fall of 2021. The five-member recruiting class has two players from Illinois, along with Rhode Island, Florida and California.
• Joining the program include OF Kali Case of Palos Heights, Ill., RHP Abby Dunning from Burr Ridge, Ill., OF/1B Darien McDonough of Lincoln, R.I., C/OF Hannah Slike from Chula Vista, Calif. and MIF/UTL Zoe Hines of DeBary, Fla.
• "With our incoming class, we've certainly added athleticism, speed, and really good pitching to the program," said Kvilhaug." We are looking for immediate contributions from the entire class. Throughout the pandemic, we haven't had a chance to see them in over a year, however we have kept close tabs virtually and have watched each one grow and improve. The work ethic of this crew is unmatched. This group is super determined to come in, get to work, and really elevate the level for BC Softball. We can't wait for their arrival to BC."
• The recruiting class is ranked 21st nationally according to Extra Inning Softball.
Leading Things Off
• Junior center fielder Ellie Mataya has led off for BC in all 33 games this year. She leads BC in batting at .355 this season. She ranks first on the team in total bases (56), doubles (8), RBI (16), slugging percentage (.509), triples (3) and on-base percentage (.393). She is 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts this season to lead the Eagles.
• Mataya's 12 multi-hit games rank first for BC in 2021. She had the longest hitting streak of any Eagle in 2021 over six games.
• Mataya ranks 14th in the ACC in batting (.355), 11th in the conference in hits (39), sixth in doubles (8) and fourth in triples (3).
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, doubles and RBI. She is second on the team this season with four multi-hit games.
• She has played tremendous defense at third base on the year, committing just two errors to go along with a .978 fielding percentage.
Welcome to the Show
• Freshman Elisabeth Laviolette earned her first career start in game one of the doubleheader against Syracuse on April 10 in left field. She finished starting both games on Saturday, going 2-for-5 with two doubles. Laviolette is the daughter of Peter and Kristen Laviolette. Her father is the head coach of the Washington Capitals.
• Laviolette is batting .278 on the season with three doubles.
Career ERA: 0.00
• Senior Gianna Randazza has been a mainstay in the lineup over her four years at Boston College as a position player. She has played in 80 career games as a position player, and two as a reliever out of the bullpen.
• In her first career appearance in the circle at Virginia, Randazza pitched one perfect inning of relief.
Giery Connection
• The Giery sisters - Kristin and Nicole - have been two mainstays in the BC lineup this season. Nicole has started 32 games in her freshman season, mostly playing at second base. She is hitting .221 with five doubles and eight RBI on the season. Kristin has played in 30 games with 25 starts - the majority of them right next to her sister at first base. Kristin is hitting .232 with two homers and 10 RBI.
