After the game was moved up two hours—and eventually cut short—due to rain in the forecast, Boston College baseball topped Rhode Island 5–3 in six and a half innings, snapping a seven-game losing streak for the Eagles.
Despite starting the season 3–20, the Rams (12–28, 7–5 Atlantic 10) posted a 9–7 record in April before Tuesday’s game against BC. But the Eagles (16–25, 3–18 Atlantic Coast) earned the victory with two home runs and limited the Rams to two hits in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Max Gieg got the start for the Eagles, and after walking Rhode Island’s Alex Ramirez and Addison Kopack, he navigated out of a second-and-third jam by inducing a groundout from Anthony DePino. The Eagles did not score in the first, as Joe Vetrano failed to drive in Cameron Leary from third after Leary singled.
Gieg returned to the mound for the next two innings, pitching a 1-2-3 top of the second and a scoreless third to complete his day. His team-leading ERA now sits at 1.37 on the season. Gieg has been one of the Eagles’ most reliable arms in the bullpen, allowing earned runs in only three of 12 appearances and striking out 21 in 19.2 innings.
BC struck first in the bottom of the second when center fielder Barry Walsh lined a triple to the left-center gap, scoring Parker Landwehr from first. Sam McNulty scored Walsh with an RBI single to right field, making the score 2–0 after two innings.
Light rain began falling in Brighton as early as the first inning and fell throughout the game. BC head coach Mike Gambino said his team felt a sense of urgency knowing that rain was coming.
“It’s a tough one because we’re trying to get the game in,” Gambino said. “You understand … the game could be shortened. … To quote Yogi Berra, ‘It gets late early.’”
Evan Moore relieved Gieg in the fourth, and after Kopack led off with a single, Moore did not allow a run, inducing a fielder’s choice to second base and striking out Rhode Island’s Justin Cherry and Rob Butler.
In the bottom of the inning, Walsh singled, and Daniel Baruch walked then stole second to put two runners in scoring position with two outs. But McNulty failed to add another RBI, and he struck out on an outside slider to end the inning.
The Rams got on the board with a run in the fifth inning when Eric Genther singled with the bases loaded to make the score 2–1. Reliever Matt Nunan retired DePino to end the inning, stranding three.
In the sixth, Vetrano singled up the middle, and after he advanced third on a passed ball, Landwehr homered to left field, scoring two. After six innings, the Eagles led 4–1.
The Rams added two runs in the seventh, as Ramirez and Kopack singled and scored on a throwing error and a double by DePino. BC scored one in the bottom of the inning, as Luke Gold homered on a 3–2 pitch over the right field wall. The game ended due to rain three batters later with BC ahead 5–3.
Walsh posted a career-high three hits in the game.
“You’re seeing [Walsh] get better—he’s similar to a lot of guys on the team,” Gambino said. “Other than Luke [Gold], Peter [Burns], and Vincent [Cimini], nobody had real experience in the field going into the year, and you’re seeing these guys … continue to get better.”
