If there was any early indication of how Kyle Kipp’s start would go, consecutive walks to start the game were a screaming alarm.
It was enough to get Boston College baseball head coach Todd Interdonato to take a mound visit just 12 pitches into the bottom half of the Eagles’ tilt against No. 18 Louisville. Kipp did not pitch around the walks, however.
Louisville hit three consecutive singles, scoring three runs before Kipp recorded an out. Just as Kipp was ready to end the inning after two strikeouts, the Cardinals caught fire again, blasting four straight hits and plating five runs.
The Cardinals’ (23–7, 7–4 Atlantic Coast) eight-run foundation stood strong as the Eagles’ (13–16, 5–9) bats failed to keep up, serving as the cornerstone in Louisville’s 17–5 mercy-rule win.
Kipp exited after allowing seven hits, giving up his spot to Peter Schaefer.
Kyle Wolff cracked a home run in the second inning, then Patrick Roche cranked a three-run homer of his own in the third inning to bring BC within five runs.
The Eagles needed five runs to tie, provided they could hold the Cardinals offense scoreless. Both failed. Jake Schweitzer allowed only one hit in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings combined.
Meanwhile, Louisville had 13 hits with runners in scoring position and scored in every inning.
Leadoff hitter Lucas Moore remained an unsolvable puzzle for the BC pitching staff throughout the game, reaching base five times and leading the Cardinals with four RBI on four hits in four at-bats, scoring four runs.
Louisville also profited off four BC errors, starting with a pickoff throwing error by Kipp in the first. From a rushed throwing error from Julio Solier in the bottom of the fifth to a dropped fly ball from Colin Larson in the sixth, BC’s defense only accelerated its defeat.
BC also dropped the first game of the Friday doubleheader 12–8. The Cardinals got their offense going early, scoring 10 runs through two innings.
Designated hitter Eddie King Jr. crushed a three-run homer in the first and hit doubles in his next two at-bats. He ended up leading Louisville with six RBIs.
Brady Miller gave up four hits and nine earned runs to go along with four walks and just one strikeout in 1.1 innings pitched, earning the loss for the Eagles. Bobby Chicoine, Karl Meyer, and Matthew Spada—some of BC’s lower-leverage relievers—then ate innings in equal portions, but none were as detrimental to BC’s chances as Miller’s appearance.
Sam McNulty was able to knock in two runs after a Louisville muffed throw in the fifth inning, and BC finished the inning with four runs in total.
The Eagles tallied three walks and a single in the top of the seventh but failed to capitalize and only scored on a bases-loaded walk, leaving three runners on base and heading into the eighth down four runs.
Then, silent innings from both teams in the eighth and ninth killed the Eagles’ chances for good, as they picked up what would be the first of two losses on the day.
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