After going down 6–0 in the first four innings, Boston College baseball’s luck seemed to have changed when Kyle Wolff blasted a single into left field in the bottom of the fifth, bringing Patrick Roche home and giving BC its first run of the day.
Not only did Roche’s run get the Eagles onto the scoreboard, but it gave them the momentum they needed to tie up the game in the following innings, setting off a streak of four consecutive innings with at least one run.
But that momentum was not enough to carry BC (14–13, 5–7 Atlantic Coast) to a win on Wednesday evening, as Rhode Island (16–12, 6–3 Atlantic 10) beat the Eagles 11–9 after an extra inning of play.
A three-RBI triple from the Rams tied the game 9–9 at the end of the ninth, and BC’s bats never found a response.
“You’ve got to give our guys a lot of credit for coming back and taking the lead,” BC head coach Todd Interdonato said. “So many different things happened throughout the course of the game, it’s hard to point to the last two innings and say ‘That’s why we lost.’”
The first inning didn’t see much action, and the second looked to be the same. That is, until Rhode Island’s DJ Perron cranked a home run into left field, bringing himself and Jack Hopko home to put the Rams up 2–0.
BC found itself in a precarious position in the top of the third, as Rhode Island had its bases loaded following consecutive singles and a walk. BC opted to change things at that point, bringing in Peter Schaefer for starting pitcher Alex Bryant.
But the pitching change did little good for the Eagles, as Hopko hit a two-RBI single to left field, then advanced to second on the throw. Suddenly, the Eagles had fallen behind another two runs, and two Rhode Island players were once again in scoring positions.
On the very next play, Schaefer walked Perron. He then walked yet another batter, pushing another run through home plate and making it 5–0 Rams.
At that point, Schaefer came out in place of Karl Meyer. The scoring ended with a Danny Leikus sacrifice fly to bring Hopko home, capping off a four-run inning for the Rams.
BC mustered one hit and a walk in the bottom half of the inning, but went into the top of the fourth empty-handed, stranding three runners on base and remaining scoreless.
BC brought in Jacob Burnham to pitch in the fourth, who managed to execute two scoreless frames and reset the game defensively for the Eagles. But a 1-2-3 inning from BC in the bottom of the fourth kept the game seemingly out of reach for the Eagles.
“Burnham threw the ball really well, three scoreless innings,” Interdonato said. “But this game is too good to minimize down to one player or one pitch.”
Following Burnham’s second no-run inning, BC made its way onto the scoreboard with the hit from Wolff that brought Roche home.
“We weren’t even really making a push on offense,” Internado said. “It just felt like we were making consecutive outs. And then it seems like just once you score one, it kind of breaks the ice.”
That run certainly seemed to wake up the team. In the sixth inning with the bases loaded, the Eagles brought in Esteban Garcia as a pinch hitter, prompting a pitching change by Rhode Island.
Garcia was out at first but pushed Adam Magpoc home from third for another BC run. A walk, then a two-RBI single from Roche—after which he advanced to second on the throw—cut Rhode Island’s lead to 6–4.
The seventh continued in much the same manner. A 1-2-3 top of the inning from the Rams kept the momentum in BC’s pocket.
Walks from Jack Toomey and Magpoc started the bottom half of the frame. Then, a sacrifice bunt from Vince Cimini advanced the runners into scoring position. Sam McNulty’s RBI groundout in the next at-bat cut the lead to one by scoring Toomey.
BC ended the Rams’ time on offense in the eighth with a swift double play, closing Rhode Island’s fifth consecutive run-less inning. The Eagles had an opportunity, and they took advantage.
BC’s first at-bat ended in a hit-by-pitch, then Beck Milner hit a double to right center. Two straight hits followed that—a single from Roche and a double from Josiah Ragsdale—and brought in three additional runners to put BC up 8–6. Ragsdale scored on a wild pitch, and the Eagles left the inning up 9–6.
When it seemed everything was going to end smoothly for the Eagles at home, however, it all went downhill. A ninth-inning three-RBI triple tied things up in a single moment.
That seemed to rattle the Eagles, but did not completely derail them. The top of the 10th is when things really began to look dire for the Eagles, as Rhode Island had the bases loaded with no outs.
Three walked batters and a hit-by-pitch in the top of the 10th marked a total collapse of the Eagles’ pitching, ultimately leading to an 11–9 BC loss.
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