Boston College baseball right fielder Sal Frelick will miss the rest of the 2019 season after undergoing successful arthroscopic knee surgery to repair partially torn cartilage, the team announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Frelick suffered the injury a week and half ago in the first leg of a three-game series with Duke. He played the following day in the first of a Saturday doubleheader, but left in the fifth inning after two at bats and hasn’t returned to the Eagles lineup since.
It’s a disappointing end to a prolific freshman campaign for the Lexington, Mass., native. He leads BC in average (.367), on base percentage (.447), slugging percentage (.513), and stolen bases (18), and ranks second in home runs (4) and RBIs (32). Frelick earned the two-hole spot in head coach Mike Gambino’s lineup from the beginning of the year, starting there in 27 of the team’s first 28 games.
Frelick missed a five-game stretch in early April, but otherwise was a consistent contributor. Not only was he excellent at the plate, but he also flashed the leather in right field. Frelick saw time at all three outfield positions during the course of the year, but his efforts in right were the most notable—where he made 22 starts—as they included several highlight-reel plays. One in particular, against North Carolina on April 21, earned a SportsCenter Top 10 nod at number four.
He also robbed a home run against Connecticut earlier in the year while playing center field—one that teammate Cody Morisette singled out on Twitter as deserving of similar national attention.
All in all, it was an excellent year for the local recruit—and one that sets him up well for a prolific career on the Heights. The team report noted that “Frelick’s doctors anticipate a full recovery for the 2020 baseball season,” which will be crucial, as BC loses two key lineup contributors in Gian Martellini and Jake Alu to graduation.
The Eagles have been playing some of their best baseball as of late, having won four of five, but not having Frelick back will surely hamper them as they attempt to make a push for the ACC Tournament. BC has four regular season games left—a non-conference matchup with Maine before a three-game homestand against Notre Dame.
Featured Image by Jonathan Ye / Heights Editor
