Down two runs with nobody out and runners on first and second in the top of the ninth, the Boston College Eagles looked poised for a late comeback Sunday afternoon. After a successful sacrifice bunt by sophomore Joe Cronin moved the runners over to second and third, the Eagles were only one base knock away from tying the rubber match of a three-game series against the Stetson University Hatters. That clutch hit never came for BC, however. Stetson’s Tyler Warmouth was able to shut the door on the Eagles and close out a series win for the Hatters with two huge strikeouts.
Jesse Gorman started the game on the mound for BC, tossing five innings of one run baseball while allowing only four hits. Despite his strong performance, the junior was pegged with the loss as BC’s bats were unable to break through. Stetson’s John Powers dazzled over seven and two-thirds innings, in which the Eagles were only able to muster up five hits and one run.
The scoring got underway in the bottom of the second as Stetson catcher Garrett Russini scored on a sacrifice fly after leading off the inning with a triple. Both pitchers cruised from that point forward, as the scoreboard remained unchanged until the bottom of the sixth.
Stetson jumped out 2-0 in the sixth as Patrick Mazeika rocketed an RBI double, scoring Tyler Bocock. Mazeika then scored again on an error, giving the Hatters a three-run lead.
The Eagles finally got on the board in the top of the eighth, as freshman Johnny Adams singled home Blake Butera, cutting the lead to two. That lone run was all BC would be able to muster at the plate, however, as the Eagles fell by a score of 3-1.
Sunday’s win earned Stetson a series win over BC. The two teams squared off three times over the weekend, which included a Stetson win on Friday and a BC win on Saturday. Stetson entered the series 0-4 on the season, while the Eagles began the weekend sporting a 3-2 record.
The series loss boiled down to inconsistent hitting and sloppy defensive play for the Eagles. In Friday night’s loss, BC actually out hit the Hatters. The Eagles registered nine hits as opposed to seven for Stetson, but what made the difference was timely Stetson hitting and sloppy BC fielding.
The Hatters were able to score four times on three hits in the fourth inning, as the Eagles committed two errors and simply could not get a clutch out. From there, Steston cruised, winning by a score of 5-3.
On Saturday, the Eagles’ bats proved to be alive and well, mashing 12 hits and scoring eight runs. Chris Shaw led the way for the Eagles, going two for four and knocking in three runs. Five players touched home plate for BC, while three were able to score twice. Pitching was excellent for the Eagles as well, as Andrew Chin threw 5.2 innings of shutout baseball. The bullpen finished off the shutout, as BC earned its most convincing win of the season by a final of 8-0.
While the end result of the series was disappointing for the Eagles, there were moments of promise both offensively and on the mound. How BC fares from here on out, starting with its annual exhibition in Fort Myers against the Red Sox on Thursday, will be determined by a level of consistent play which was lacking over the weekend.
