No. 22 Boston College baseball and No. 6 North Carolina split a pair of scrappy affairs on Thursday and Friday. The series-deciding match on Saturday was no different, with neither team giving an inch.
With a top-three spot in the ACC on the line, the Tar Heels (27–5–1, 11–4 Atlantic Coast) defeated the Eagles (22–11, 9–6) 8–7 in comeback fashion to take the weekend series.
After registering just two runs on Friday, BC wasted no time getting on the board in a preview of the offensive explosion to come.
Back-to-back walks followed by back-to-back strikeouts to open the second inning brought veteran Kyle Wolff up to the plate for his first at-bat of the series. He roped a fastball into left field for a double, bringing Jack Toomey home for an early 1–0 lead.
UNC pitcher Folger Boaz was able to get out of the inning without any more damage, forcing a Colin Larson groundout. Boaz would throw a strong 4.2 innings, giving up just three hits while striking out four.
After a quiet first two innings, BC Brady Miller ran into some trouble in the third. A Perry Hargett walk and a Jake Schaffner single put runners on the corners with one out for UNC. Gavin Gallaher swung at the first pitch he saw, sending a single into left field and evening the score at one.
Two batters later, Macon Winslow lifted a two-RBI double into left-center. Owen Hull threatened to score another UNC run with a single, but Julio Solier threw Winslow out at home to end the third with the home squad leading 3–1.
UNC threatened again in the fourth. A Colin Hynek double was followed by Tyler Howe being hit by a pitch, putting two runners on with nobody out. But Brady Miller got out of the jam, earning a strikeout and inducing a groundball double play to end the fourth with no damage done.
BC’s offense picked back up in the fifth. A Gunnar Johnson walk and a Solier double put two Eagles in scoring position with Nick Wang coming up and Camron Seagraves replacing Boaz on the mound.
Seagraves walked Wang in four pitches to load the bases, before Ty Mainolfi doubled to right to clear the bases and put BC back up 4–3. Two pitches later, Toomey brought Mainolfi home with a double to extend the lead to two. A Carter Hendrickson walk ended Seagraves’ night after just 12 pitches, as Matthew Matthijs was brought out of the bullpen.
The Eagles didn’t stop there. Luke Gallo came through with a single into left that drove Toomey home, before a wild pitch brought Hendrickson home for BC’s sixth run of the inning. The inning finally ended after Johnson grounded out with BC leading 7–3.
Miller was pulled after putting two runners on base to open the sixth, ending his day with five innings pitched, two strikeouts, and eight hits surrendered.
Kyle Kipp came in to replace Miller and started his day by issuing a walk to bring the tying run to the plate with no outs. Howe reached on a fielder’s choice, bringing one runner home and leaving runners on first and third, and a sacrifice fly let the Tar Heels cut BC’s lead to two.
Kipp continued to struggle in the seventh, as he walked the bases full with one out before getting relieved by John Kwiatkowski.
Kwiatkowski’s first pitch was a wild one, advancing each runner and cutting BC’s two-run lead in half. Three pitches later, Hull chopped a single into right, bringing both Tar Heels home and putting UNC back up 8–7. The Tar Heels looked to extend their newfound lead, but a double play ended the inning.
Both teams were held scoreless in the eighth, giving the Eagles one last chance to fight for the series win with the top of their order due up.
Mainolfi recorded a two-out single, but Walker McDuffie struck Toomey out to end the game. McDuffie recorded his second save in as many days, preserving the Tar Heel lead and cementing the comeback as an 8–7 victory.
