Another week means another edition of our Weekly Roundup, where we take a look at all the happenings in the world of Boston College Athletics from the past week. An action-packed weekend saw wins over ranked opponents for women’s tennis and baseball, while lacrosse celebrated Red Bandanna Day with a resounding victory. Check out more on those recaps and other notable storylines below.
Lacrosse Records its Fourth Straight Win Against a Top-15 Opponent
The Eagles capped off the toughest part of their schedule with the annual Red Bandanna Game, taking on No. 13 Duke Saturday afternoon. The contest marked BC’s fourth straight game against a top-15 opponent, and the result was the same as the other three: a largely convincing Eagles win. There were some moments in the first half where it looked like the Blue Devils could give BC a scare, as Duke knotted the game at 5-5 with nine minutes to play in the half. The Eagles closed the first period on a 4-1 run, though, and continued to pull away in the second frame, scoring freely and eventually winning, 20-12. Kenzie Kent led the way with eight points, while Dempsey Arsenault tallied a team-high five goals in the win. BC’s defense was also excellent in the win, forcing 19 Duke turnovers.
Baseball Loses Pair of Midweek Contests, Steals One Game From No. 3 N.C. State
The week started poorly for BC, which took on Massachusetts in the first round of the Beanpot on Tuesday and lost, 6-2. The Eagles managed just two hits in the final four innings, and the bullpen—which has been inconsistent this season—faltered, giving up three runs in the fifth inning after BC managed to tie the game at two runs apiece, thanks to an RBI groundout from Gian Martellini. The struggles continued against Hartford on Wednesday, as the Eagles left nine men on base and once again couldn’t muster a late rally. Freshman Ramon Jimenez’s sixth-inning home run was the last time BC would score, and Hartford tacked on two runs in the top of the ninth to secure a 7-4 victory.
North Carolina State was the next team to visit Chestnut Hill, this time for a three-game weekend series, and left having won two of three contests against the Eagles. Friday, BC fell behind, 3-0, in the seventh inning but rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, courtesy of a two-out, two-strike RBI triple from Jimenez. The Wolfpack counter-punched with three runs in the ninth inning, leaving the Eagles with a 6-3 deficit that they nearly erased in the bottom half of the inning. Jake Alu crossed the plate on a fielder’s choice to narrow the N.C. State lead to 6-5, but Jack Cunningham was caught in a rundown to end the game and give BC a loss in the first game of the weekend.
Saturday’s contest was nowhere near as close. The Eagles’ pitching had issues with control all day long, issuing 12 walks to the Wolfpack. N.C. State capitalized, racing out to an 8-2 lead after four innings and never looked back, cruising to a 16-4 win. BC would rebound on Sunday behind yet another stellar pitching performance from Mason Pelio. The freshman, who is undoubtedly the Eagles’ most reliable starter right now, allowed just two hits and one run in 7 2/3 quality innings of work, and Alu delivered the go-ahead run in the eighth inning by plating Chris Galland with a single up the middle. Thomas Lane pitched the final 1 1/3 innings, ensuring BC would end the weekend on a high note with a 3-1 win.
Softball Continues to Slide, Losing Streak Stretches to Six
It was a brutal week for rivalry games, as far as BC is concerned. The Eagles lost in walkoff fashion to Boston University before hitting the road and getting swept against Notre Dame. Against the Terriers on Wednesday, BC came within one out of a win, but Emily Morrow came through in the clutch for BU, tripling with two outs in the ninth inning to plate two runs and hand the Eagles a 3-2 loss. Allyson Moore drove in a run for BC in the defeat, extending her hitting streak to five games in the process.
The series against the Fighting Irish didn’t go much better for the Eagles, who couldn’t get much going at the plate or in the circle throughout the weekend. On Friday, BC was run-ruled, as Notre Dame pitchers Payton Tidd and Morgan Ryan combined to throw a two-hit shutout in five innings of work. In the meantime, the Irish hit home runs in the third and fourth innings, and tacked on two more runs in the fourth frame to grab an 11-0 lead and end the contest early.
Saturday, the Eagles managed a few runs, but once again couldn’t keep up with the Notre Dame offense. Emme Martinez drove in Lexi DiEmmanuele in the first inning to open the scoring gates, but the Irish scored eight consecutive runs after the third frame and got two more big flies, easing to a 9-3 win. Sunday, Martinez stayed hot, driving in BC’s only two runs of the game with an RBI single in the fifth inning to cut the Notre Dame lead to 3-2, but the Eagles couldn’t find any offense outside of that. Alexis Holloway pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for the Irish, allowing just one hit and shutting the door on a 7-2 BC loss.
Football’s Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Game Features Modified Scoring System
The weekend also marked the first opportunity for BC fans to take a look at the 2019 football team, as the Eagles held their Spring Game on Saturday afternoon. The contest featured limited action for offensive stars like Anthony Brown and A.J. Dillon, as well as a modified scoring system and an offense-defense format. The offense eventually emerged victorious, 71-55, and many young players got a chance to shine. For more on that, check out some observations from the game here.
Men’s Tennis Drops to 0-11 in ACC Play
The Eagles set out on a road trip over the weekend, taking on North Carolina on Friday and Duke on Sunday. Unfortunately for BC, the two matches went the same way conference play has gone for BC: poorly. Against the Tar Heels, Wills Tutecky picked up a straight-sets victory at the sixth singles spot, but the rest of the Eagles couldn’t follow suit. BC lost the doubles point, and the other five singles matches to start the weekend off with a 6-1 defeat to UNC. On Sunday, the Eagles fell, 6-1. Conor Mullins picked up the lone win of the day for BC at the fifth singles spot after Duke’s Vincent Lin retired, but it wasn’t enough, as the Eagles fell to 0-11 in conference play.
Women’s Tennis Tops No. 27 Miami, Then Runs its Win Streak to Four
Women’s tennis continued an impressive end to the season with a pair of wins over No. 27 Miami and Pittsburgh. On Friday against the Hurricanes, the match came down to the final singles court. Laura Lopez, who clinched BC’s upset win over No. 10 Syracuse earlier in the season, once again played closer for the Eagles, defeating Ana Madcur, 6-1, 7-5, to give BC a dramatic 4-3 victory. For a more comprehensive recap, check out our summary here.
Sunday, the Eagles honored Jackie Urbinati, the program’s lone senior, in the best way possible. BC beat the Panthers, 5-2, to earn its 15th win—the highest win total for the Eagles in the past 15 years. Urbinati ended her career at the Flynn Recreation Complex with a 7-5, 6-3 win at the No. 2 singles spot, and Dasha Possokhova sealed the match with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
Moment of the Week: Women’s tennis secures another upset and matches its highest win total from the past 15 years in the process
In the past 15 years, the Eagles have recorded just three winning seasons, but they’re well on the way to another one here in 2019. BC has upset a pair of top-30 teams this year and has two more matches to add to an already stellar 15-7 campaign.
What’s Next?
Baseball stays home for midweek games against Rhode Island (Tuesday) and Quinnipiac (Wednesday) before hosting Georgia Tech in another weekend series.
Softball plays at Connecticut on Tuesday, returns home for a game against Fairfield Wednesday, and then has a home weekend series against GT.
Lacrosse hits the road for a game against Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Women’s Tennis has road matches against Notre Dame on Friday and Duke on Sunday.
Men’s Tennis plays Clemson at home on Friday.
Featured Image by Bradley Smart / Heights Editor
