Last week, Boston College baseball went 3-1, defeating the University of Connecticut on Tuesday and taking two of three games against the University of Pittsburgh over the weekend. This week, the Eagles have dropped games to Northeastern and Rhode Island. BC is now 13-14 overall with a 5-7 conference record, which places them 13th in the ACC.
BC beat UConn (10-12) in Storrs in eight innings, 18-6. The Huskies jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first two innings before the BC offense came alive. The Eagles scored in every inning from the fourth, onwards, hitting five home runs as a team. BC tied the game at 4-4in the fourth, before UConn took a one-run lead in the bottom of the inning. Esteban Garcia put the Eagles ahead for good with a two-run single in the fifth and Birdball pitching allowed just one run the rest of the way. Sam McNulty, Josiah Ragsdale, Nick Wang, Gunnar Johnson, and Vince Cimini all homered in the game.
Beginning on the 28th, BC welcomed Pitt (16-11, 3-6) to the Harrington Athletics Village for a three-game series. The teams split a doubleheader on Friday, before BC won the rubber match on Sunday. In game one, with Pitt leading 3-2, they scored four runs in the top of the third. Not to be outdone, the Eagles scored six in their half of the inning, taking an 8-7 lead. In that inning, Patrick Roche, Wang, Adam Magpoc, and Johnson all collected RBIs. Unfortunately, with Joey Ryan on the bump and BC leading 8-7 in the eighth, Ryan allowed a two-run home run that gave Pitt the lead and eventually the win.
Game two of the doubleheader was even close than the first. After the opening frame, BC held a 3-1 lead thanks to a few walks and a fielder’s choice. Both offenses struggled for most of the game, although the Eagles held a 5-2 lead entering the top of the ninth. Eric Schroeder allowed three unearned runs in the inning, allowing Pitt to tie the game and force extra innings. Neither team could manage any offense until the bottom of the 13th inning when Jack Toomey single and Magpoc drove him in with a double, giving BC the walk-off win.
The Eagles earned another thrilling, walk-off victory on Sunday afternoon. After trailing for most of the game, BC tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh on RBIs by Johnson and Garcia. With the game still tied in the bottom of the ninth, Magpoc drew a walk and Johnson singled, bringing Sam McNulty to the plate. He executed a perfect bunt, scoring Magpoc and giving BC the series win and a second walk-off win in a row.
On April Fools’ Day, BC lost to Northeastern (19-8) in the Beanpot semifinal, 3-0. Starter A.J. Colarusso allowed two runs (one earned) in three innings and the BC offense couldn’t overcome that deficit. They’ll face UMass in the Beanpot third place game on April 29.
BC couldn’t work more walk-off magic on Wednesday, and lost 11-9 against Rhode Island in ten innings. The Rams leapt out to a 6-0 lead in the first three innings, putting BC in aa big hole. But the Eagles battled back, scoring one run in the fifth, three in the sixth, and one in the seventh, to pull within one run. In the bottom of the eighth, BC scored four runs on four hits to take a 9-6 lead. But Cesar Gonzalez allowed three runs and three hits, allowing the Rams to tied the game at nine runs apiece. Rhode Island scored two more times in the tenth, giving BC its second loss in a row.
This weekend, BC will travel to Kentucky to take on Louisville (21-7, 5-4).