Boston College baseball third baseman Jake Alu singled to lead off Wednesday afternoon’s contest between the Eagles and Bryant. For Alu, it was his fifth hit in his last five plate appearances and, for BC, it was the spark that would propel the offense for the rest of the game. After eventually crossing home plate on a wild pitch, Alu’s run served as a preview for the rest of the contest, with the Eagles prevailing, 10-5.
BC (21-22, 7-14 Atlantic Coast) briefly conceded its lead in the bottom half of the first frame. RBI hits from Chris Wright and James Ciliento provided a quick response for the Bulldogs (28-13, 10-2 Northeast).
Fortunately for the Eagles, BC immediately answered in the top of the second and would never relinquish the lead again. Chris Galland drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single. Later, the Eagles put their fourth run on the board, thanks to a sacrifice fly from star freshman Sal Frelick. While BC managed to add three runs to its tally in the second, it could have done much more. Despite having the bases loaded with only one out, a strikeout and a popout limited the damage.
In the bottom half of the second frame, BC starter Joey Walsh got into a bit of trouble. However, Walsh made a great catch on a line drive up the middle, leading to a double play that got the Eagles out of the inning unscathed.
BC continued its scoring streak in the third on another RBI base hit from Galland. In the bottom half of the inning, Walsh struggled once again, loading the bases. Yet once more, Walsh got out of the inning without giving up a run. The zero on the scoreboard was also largely due to Dante Baldelli. The BC center fielder made the play of the day, robbing what initially looked to be a surefire home run from Bryant’s Jimmy Titus—he leapt up and pulled the ball back from beyond the fence.
Bryant got one run back in the fourth, but BC quickly extended its lead in the fifth. Galland picked up his fourth RBI of the game on a single, and Frelick drove one run in with a walk. Still, BC could have really blown the game open, but instead ended the inning with the bases loaded once again.
The Bulldogs kept on chipping away at their deficit by adding a run in the fifth, but it was the same story, as BC got two back in the sixth. Gian Martellini picked up an RBI on his second double of the game, and Cody Morissette scored Martellini with a triple. Jack Cunningham continued his hot hitting streak by slicing an RBI single up the middle, putting BC’s 10th and final run on the board.
Bryant made it interesting in the ninth, as it added a run and loaded the bases. In fact, BC had to bring on Matt Gill to replace Emmet Sheehan with two outs in the inning. Yet Gill did his job, and the Eagles came away with an impressive victory.
For BC, it was arguably its best offensive performance of the season. The 10 runs was the third-most the Eagles scored all season, and the 18 hits marked a season high. On the other hand, BC did give up 12 hits to Bryant, but produced key pitches at crucial times to limit the run total to five.
For the Eagles, this win came at an important time. After a devastating sweep at North Carolina last weekend—in which two of the three games went to extra innings—BC needed to re-establish confidence and momentum. It appears to have done so this week, taking back-to-back games, and is now gearing up to take on a talented Duke squad this weekend. The Eagles will need to capitalize on the opportunity to secure a spot in the ACC Tournament.
Featured Image by Jess Rivilis / Heights Staff
