Sunday vs. Northwestern: L, 8–5
Boston College baseball (3–2) finished off its weekend slate with a rematch against Northwestern (5–2) on Sunday afternoon. Just like in Saturday’s game against the Wildcats, however, the Eagles fell short, losing 8–5 after Northwestern put up seven runs in the eighth inning.
The Eagles opened scoring in the bottom of the first. Ty Mainolfi reached first following a pitching error by Cornell’s Matthew Kouser, then Jack Toomey walked on the next at-bat. Toomey and Mainolfi stole second and third after that, setting them up for a score with Kyle Wolff getting ready to bat.
Wolff forced a walk, loading the bases. Then, a wild pitch from Kouser allowed Mainolfi to run home and put the Eagles up 1–0. That was the only run BC got out of the inning, though, as Gunnar Johnson struck out to close the first frame.
Northwestern responded in the top of the third, when BC shortstop Julio Solier’s fielding error allowed Jack Counsell to score from second base.
Solier got the run he gave up back in the bottom of the fifth inning, though, when both he and Sean Martinez scored off a two-RBI single by Mainolfi to put the Eagles up 3–1.
BC struggled in the following innings and did not score again until the eighth. By then, it was too late.
Northwestern went on a tear in the top of the eighth, scoring seven runs on just three hits. Bobby Chicoine replaced Jacob Burnham on the mound after Burnham gave up a single, a walk, and then committed a fielding error before Jay Slater hit an RBI single into left field.
Chicoine gave up a sacrifice fly for another Northwestern run. A wild pitch and a walk later, Matthew Spada headed in for Burnham. Spada, too, threw a wild pitch before walking consecutive batters, giving up a run, and being pulled for Peter Schaefer.
Schaefer allowed another run when he walked the first batter he faced, then pitched a two-RBI single. The next batter struck out, but the damage had already been done—Northwestern’s seven-run eighth inning was the ultimate difference.
BC put up one run in the remaining two innings, but that was no match for the Wildcats’ explosion, and the Eagles recorded their second loss of the weekend.
Sunday vs. Cornell: W, 7–6
After beating Cornell by eight runs the day before, BC started its Sunday morning with a second matchup against the Big Red.
Toomey scored the first run of the game with an RBI triple in the bottom of the first, scoring Mainolfi from first base.
Cornell responded with two runs in the top of the fourth, as Mainolfi committed a fielding error that scored Caden Wildman from second base. Aiden Barclay hit a sacrifice fly on the next at-bat to put Cornell up one, but BC tied things up 2–2 in the bottom of the inning off an RBI groundout from Wolff.
BC tacked on two more runs in the fifth, including one on a balk from Cesar Gonzalez. Solier hit a sacrifice fly to score Gonzalez on the next at-bat.
Cornell tied the game yet again in the top of the eighth, but BC scored three runs in the bottom of the frame and headed into the ninth up 7–4.
Chase Hartsell was on the mound for the Eagles to start the ninth. But after hitting a batter with a pitch, then pitching consecutive hits—a single, then a two-RBI double—John Kwiatkowski went in to replace him. Kwiatkowski pitched a groundout and a strikeout, and the game ended with a 7–6 win for the Eagles.
Saturday vs. Northwestern: L, 5–4
The Eagles were quick to start scoring in their second game of the weekend versus Northwestern, with Solier hitting a lead-off triple and Nick Wang following with a homerun.
Wang’s homerun gave BC a very early 2–0 lead, but Northwestern responded in the second inning with two runs to even the score. A triple and a double back-to-back by Griffin Mills and Counsell had BC head coach Todd Interdonato make the call for Kwiatkowski to replace Sean Hard on the mound.
Owen DeShazo’s sacrifice fly to right field allowed Toomey to score and give the Eagles the lead once again at 3–2.
In the sixth, Wang and Mainolfi led off with walks. Toomey’s double play put two outs on the board, but it also advanced Wang to third base. Wolff’s two-out double scored Wang and tacked on BC’s fourth run.
Northwestern did not take long to respond, though, adding three runs in the bottom of the sixth off a solo homerun and a two-run triple to take the lead.
The Eagles were unable to regain their footing, only putting two runners on base in the next three innings and ultimately falling 5–4 to the Wildcats.
Friday vs. Cornell: W, 9–1
BC opened a four-game weekend series against Cornell on Friday, routing the Big Red 9–1 to kick off its trip to Spartansburg.
In the first inning, the Eagles started strong with an RBI off a ground ball from Wang after Solier’s lead-off double to give BC the early 1–0 lead.
In the second inning, Ben Williams added another run to BC’s score after drawing a walk and crossing the plate off a single into left field from DeShazo.
The Eagles continued to run away with the score in the third inning.
Toomey crossed the plate for the Eagles after tripling, and a Wolff single hit straight into center field put him across the plate.
Wolff laid down a bunt in the fifth inning that allowed Mainolfi to add a fourth run for the Eagles.
Eagles pitcher A.J. Colarusso threw seven strikeouts for his second win in his second start of the season.
In the sixth inning, a Wang sacrifice fly and a single by Mainolfi allowed for Solier to add two more runs for BC and extend the lead to 6–1. Mainolfi added on another RBI off a fielder’s choice that scored Solier in the eighth. In the top of the ninth, Wolff added BC’s eighth run of the day after a double from Johnson.
Martinez closed out scoring for the game, knocking a left-field single to give BC its ninth run, ending in a 9–1 victory for the Eagles.
