“Good pitching beats good hitting,” is one of those ambiguous, half-assumed conventions of baseball wisdom that is usually true. But on all fronts of Boston College baseball’s Sunday matchup against Virginia, good hitting outmatched good pitching in the rubber-match affair that fell dominantly in Virginia’s favor.
The No. 19 Cavaliers (19–1, 4–1 Atlantic Coast) pulled the rug out from under the Eagles’ fifth-inning momentum with three runs in the sixth and ultimately downed BC 16–8.
Every time the Eagles (7–11, 1–5) found a hitting rhythm and chipped back, Virginia wouldn’t relent, and the deficit grew larger and larger.
But BC showed fight all game. Down six runs with two innings to play, Cameron Leary delivered a shot to right field, hitting a home run that sent Travis Honeyman and Sam McNulty home, and the Eagles were down by three again.
Virginia showed no signs of quitting in the bottom of the inning, though. Jake Gelof, the nation’s home run leader, stepped to the plate for the fourth time and singled to right center.
Earlier in the game, Gelof hit a homer, marking his 12th home run of the year and third of the series.
With Alex Tappen up to bat, Gelof stole second. Tappen typed the final punctuation mark, getting a full swing on an inner-plate fastball to send one to the upper bleachers, adding two insurance runs. Tappen and Gelof were a perfect 8-for-8 on the day.
BC started senior Mason Pelio on the mound, who has yet to return to his 2019 form due to injury. Since his injury, Pelio has seen limited time on the mound, looking to restore his arm to its former shape.
After the second inning, Pelio’s command of the strike zone went unsteady, and from a controlled start to a shaky finish, the senior was responsible for three runs in the game.
Pelio was replaced on the mound in the bottom half of the third inning by Charlie Coon, an off-speed southpaw. Coon was disciplined on the mound, dealing out changeups and curve balls synchronously, but he couldn’t stop the red-hot Cavaliers.
In the fourth inning, BC’s Luke Gold blasted a shot to deep center field, putting the Eagles on the board. In the fifth inning, Gold raked his first triple of the year to the right center gap to cut BC’s deficit to 8–4.
But Virginia had BC back on the ropes again shortly, and the Eagles couldn’t hold off Gelof’s fire, which ignited the whole group.
Featured Image by Kayla Brandt / For the Heights
