Welcome back to another Birdball recap! It’s been a few weeks since we last talked about Boston College baseball, so there’s a lot to catch up on. The Eagles are 17-13 overall and 6-9 in conference play. They were swept by Virginia Tech two weeks ago but responded by sweeping the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets last weekend. Earlier this week, they also defeated Harvard 17-9 to advance to the Beanpot Final, which will be played on April 9.
This weekend, the Eagles hosted the Florida State Seminoles during Red Bandana Weekend in Chestnut Hill. FSU is one of the best teams in the country and entered the series ranked 14th in the country with a 24-4 record.
On Friday, BC struggled with the bats and on the mound and lost the opener 12-4. Michael Farinelli started the game and went 4.2 innings, striking out three and giving up four runs, although just one was earned. Cameron Leary hit a three-run home run in the third inning to give BC a 3-0 lead, but the Seminoles scored nine runs across the fifth and sixth innings and took game one.
Birdball won the middle game in exciting fashion: Leary hit a walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the 11th! Eric Schroeder shut out FSU in the ninth, 10th, and 11th innings and Leary stepped to the plate with one out in the bottom of the 11th. He sent a 2-2 pitch to right field for a 448-foot moonshot, his 11th longball of the season.
John West started the game and pitched seven strong innings, allowing four runs and striking out six batters. With the game tied at 2-2 in the sixth, the Eagles scored three runs thanks to hits by Nick Wang and Vince Cimini, a Parker Landwehr walk, two wild pitches, and a sac fly from John Collins. FSU tied the game by scoring two runs each in the seventh and eighth innings before Leary sent the BC fans home happy with his mammoth walk-off homer.
Sunday’s rubber match was a pitchers’ duel until late. The Eagles opened the scoring on a sac fly by Kyle Wolff, scoring Patrick Roche in the first inning. The game remained 1-0 until the fifth when the Seminoles tied it at one run apiece. BC took the lead back in the sixth after Adam Magpoc was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Unfortunately, BC pitching couldn’t hold back the FSU offense after the sixth. The Seminoles scored five runs in the seventh and three runs in the eighth to seize a 9-2 lead. A.J. Colarusso pitched masterfully for the first six innings but gave up four runs in the seventh before he was chased from the game. The Eagles offense only managed five hits and the defense committed three errors in the loss.
Birdball’s next game will come on Tuesday when they play in the Beanpot Final against Northeastern.