ACC Championship Preview: BC vs. Notre Dame

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ACC Championship Preview

THE FACTS

WHEN: Thursday, May 10 at 1:30 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
Stream: http://bceagl.es/t4eT30jTYSH
Live stats for all games: http://bceagl.es/amDb30jTYRg
Twitter: @bc_softball

OPPONENT: Notre Dame

ALL-TIME RECORD VS. OPPONENT: 10-28
Streak vs. Notre Dame: W2
Home vs. Notre Dame: 5-10
Away vs. Notre Dame: 4-12
Neutral vs. Notre Dame: 1-6
Obrest vs. Notre Dame: 5-4

Scouting the Opponent:

The Eagles finished with a 30-22 record at the end of regular season play, earning the fourth seed in the ACC Championship.
For the second straight year, BC will play fifth-seed Notre Dame in the first round of the tournament in Atlanta, Ga. at Georgia Tech.
The Maroon and Gold earned a series win over the Fighting Irish earlier this season, losing the first game, 4-8, but winning the next two, 6-4, and, 9-6, respectively. BC outscored Notre Dame 19-18 in the series.
The series win against the Irish was the first since 1998. It was also the first time since 1998 that BC won two straight games against Notre Dame.
The nine runs scored in the final game of the three-game set against the Irish ties the most ever runs scored for BC against ND. That game was also the first time in the history between the two teams that BC defeated the Irish by as much as three runs.
The Eagles have a 10-28 record all-time against the Irish. BC is 1-6 when playing Notre Dame at a neutral location.
Head coach Ashley Obrest has posted a 5-4 career record versus the Irish.
The last time BC won three consecutive games against ND was in 1997-98 when it won five straight games against the Irish.

What’s Going On With the Eagles:

The Pitching Staff:

Senior Jessica Dreswick continues her work-horse ways into the 2018 season. As of May 6, she is tied for fourth in the ACC in games started with 30. She is third in innings pitched (201.2), third in appearances (42) and fifth in complete games with 16.
The right-hander is also seventh in opponent batting average (.216). Dreswick is fifth in the ACC with 181 strikeouts. She is also fourth in strikeouts looking (43).
In BC’s game vs. Texas State on Feb. 12, Dreswick threw a career-high 11 strikeouts – a feat she matched when she struck out 11 batters again versus CCSU on Feb. 25. With 10 K’s recorded in the win over No. 18 Ole Miss and in the 4-1 victory over UConn, Dreswick has thrown double digits in strikeouts in four games so far this season.
On March 23 vs. Virginia, Dreswick threw five perfect innings as BC run-ruled the Cavaliers, 8-0. The perfect game is believed to be the first in ACC program history.
In the BC record books, Dreswick has the most games started of any pitcher in BC history with 105 starts. On her 100th career start versus UMass on April 18, Dreswick tied the all-time program win record at BC with her 55th victory as an Eagle. On April 24 against Harvard, Dreswick became the winningest pitcher in BC history with her 56th career W.
As of May 6, the Boston College pitching staff is ranked fifth in the ACC with a 2.42 ERA.
Redshirt junior Allyson Frei threw a total of 405 pitches over 24.1 innings pitched against FIU in the FIU Classic. As of May 6, she held a 2.57 ERA, which is good for 13th in the conference.
Frei led the Eagles to a 1-0 victory over top-ranked Florida State on April 13, becoming the first ACC pitcher to shut-out the Seminoles. Her performance won her ACC Co-Player of the Week Honors on April 17 – the second time in her career that Frei has received the honor.

Leading at the Plate

Entering Championship season, senior Chloe Sharabba leads the team with 38 runs scored. She has 54 hits, including 12 doubles and six home runs. She has also picked up 21 RBIs and drawn a team-leading 30 walks, resulting in a .439 on base percentage and a .540 slugging percentage.
In ACC play, Sharabba is 14th in slugging percentage (.551) and tied for eighth in on base percentage (.472).
Senior Annie Murphy has been a stand-out player in ACC play as she leads the conference in hits in ACC play with a .440 batting average, 33 hits, is second in RBIs with 23 and fifth in on base percentage (.506). She is also tied for seventh in total bases with 43.
Murphy was riding a remarkable 26-game reached base streak entering the final week of the regular season. Her strong performance against Notre Dame led to her earning ACC Co-Player of the Week honors on April 24.

Team Highlights:

The Boston College softball team’s historic win streak ended at 13 games with a loss to Florida State on April 13, besting the previous record of 10 which was set in 1995. The winning streak began against Virginia on March 23.
During the winning streak, BC recorded a .296 team batting average and scored 85 runs, while run-ruling its opponent four times. The Eagles scored a season-high 16 runs in the victory over the Friars. In game two versus Syracuse, BC hit two home runs in one inning for the first time all season. The team collected 97 hits, including six home runs. BC also drew 62 walks during the streak, posting a .423 team on base percentage. Dreswick and Frei had a combined 1.47 ERA during the streak and allowed just 18 earned runs.
BC began the season with an RPI of 132. As of April 24, the Maroon and Gold have an RPI of 53.
The Eagles finished the month of April with an 11-6 record. BC finished out its non-conference schedule with eight straight wins. The Eagles are 4-1 in the month of May.
At the conclusion of the regular season, BC had five players honored by the ACC. Annie Murphy and Emme Martinez were named to the All-ACC First Team, Chloe Sharabba and Jessica Dreswick were selected to the All-ACC Second Team and Martinez and CC Cook earned a spot on the All-Freshmen Team.