In the second inning of Boston College baseball’s matchup against William & Mary, it seemed to be going just as the Eagles had hoped—until they crashed and burned.
While the first inning was a rather quiet frame, as both teams registered one hit with no runs, the second inning was telling.
Despite tallying four runs on three hits in the top of the second, BC could not contain the Griffins’ relentless showing that would soon follow.
Even though William & Mary had two outs and two strikes with no runs scored, they managed to pull off a six-run second inning to take the lead by two. Off six singles and a walk, the Griffins had taken the Eagles’ once comfortable lead right out of their hands.
“I thought it was important for us to get off to a good start, and we did,” BC head coach Todd Interdonato said. “We have got to give them a ton of credit because on defense, we had two outs and two strikes in the second inning without a run in, and then they strung together six or seven hits together to put up six runs.”
The next few innings proved to be rather tumultuous for the Eagles, as they were playing a game of catch-up with William & Mary. Despite this, the Eagles (3–3) took the matchup against the Griffins (4–5) 14–11 off late-game scoring frenzies.
In the bottom of the third inning, Kyle Kipp replaced Eric Schroeder on the mound for BC. With Kipp stepping in as pitcher, the Eagles were able to stop some of the bleeding.
After back-to-back strikes, Derek Holmes singled, which was followed by a William & Mary walk. A Jamie Laskofski single scored Holmes on the play, increasing the Griffins’ lead to three.
The fourth inning wasn’t any better for BC.
While BC managed to put one more run on the board after a batter’s interference call and a fielding error, the Griffins performed better. With three runs, four hits, and no errors, William & Mary seemed to be on its way to a smooth-sailing victory.
But in the top of the sixth inning, following walks from Josiah Ragsdale and Patrick Roche, Nick Wang’s two-RBI single to score both of them changed the trajectory of the game.
“I thought one play at-bat that would get overlooked was when Wang singled to right field when we were down 11–5 to make it 11–7,” Interdonato said. “I thought that was one of the plays that would go overlooked in a box score. I thought that was really great at bat, that he singled to right and got that back in our momentum.”
By holding William & Mary scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles had brought the score to 11–7 and had a comeback in the works. Slowly but surely, BC started chipping away at the Griffins’ lead.
It wasn’t until the top of the seventh inning that the Eagles began to truly shine, though.
Jack Toomey reached second on a fielding error, then Beck Milner walked to start the inning off with two Eagles on base. Then, a Ragsdale walk put Kyle Wolff in an optimal position during his at-bat. Wolff delivered a single to left field, scoring Milner and Toomey on the play. Roche’s single scored Ragsdale after that.
“He’s been so good, all year,” Interdonato said about Wolff. “We feel that two spot in the batting order should be kept for your best hitter, and he has just been our best hitter and our most consistent performer, and he is doing it at a DH spot, which is not easy to do. But he is so prepared and so focused whenever he takes that bat, and we have a ton of trust in him.”
Picking up five runs and three hits in the inning, BC took back its lead and found itself with a 12–11 advantage.
For the next two innings, BC held the Griffins scoreless while putting up another two runs.
“I just appreciate our guys continuing to fight when we’ve been down in a number of games this year, but you know, we have been at least able to get it close,” Interdonato said. “Today, we were able to get it close and get it over the hump. Proud of their persistence and competitiveness once we got down.”
