Holding sole possession of third-most home runs in program history probably wasn’t on Cameron Leary’s mind when he stepped up to bat. But in the top of the fourth inning with runners on every base, a fastball down the middle provided the opportunity in an ideal situation. Leary smacked it, just like he had done seven times before this season.
Leary’s 36th Boston College baseball homer never left his eyes from the moment it exited Ian Cooke’s right hand. The soft delivery from the Connecticut hurler didn’t hook, curve, or weave side-to-side. It whistled right down the middle of the plate, landing in a sweet spot for Leary’s bat.
Leary showcased his signature, one-handed release of the bat after smoothly driving through the ball. He stared toward right-center field as the ball drifted away, cozying in a spot just right of the scoreboard at Elliot Ballpark.
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Whether or not making program history was on his mind, Leary’s grand slam added four tallies to the score, putting the Eagles (12–11, 2–7 Atlantic Coast) up 5–2. BC held onto the lead for the remainder of the game, keeping its record above the .500 mark and exiting Storrs, Conn., with a 7–4 victory over the Huskies (9–14).
A squeeze hit—consisting of a sacrifice bunt with a runner on third base—brought Adam Magpoc home safely in the top of the second inning, which grabbed the Eagles an early 1–0 advantage. Owen DeShazo, the batter, beat out the ball at first to record the RBI single as well.
BC starter Brian McMonagle, however, couldn’t hold off UConn’s attack in the bottom of the inning.
With no outs and a runner on first and third, McMonagle flicked a two-seam fastball on a 1–1 count to Matt Garbowski. Garbowski shot the ball through the opposite side for a base hit that trickled past BC shortstop Sam McNulty. Kyle Kipp replaced McMonagle, but Bryan Padilla wasted no time in his at bat, dribbling a ground ball through the middle infield to score a second run and make it 2–1.
Likely displeased with the outcome of Leary’s grand slam, Cooke settled in and swept through a 1–2–3 inning in the top of the fifth, striking out Vince Cimini and John Collins in the process. The same thing occurred in the top of the sixth inning, with Cooke fanning DeShazo and McNulty.
But Cooke’s second 1–2–3 inning occurred with just a one-run deficit instead of the three. That was due to a series of walks, a Korey Morton RBI fielder’s choice, and a Maddix Dalena sacrifice fly made it just 5–4 in the bottom of the fifth, threatening what had been a stable BC lead.
BC came close to scoring again in the top of the seventh inning with Cimini at the plate and a runner on first and third. Braden Quinn was substituted for Cooke at the beginning of the inning, trading a lefty for a righty on the mound for the Huskies. A hanging curveball resulted in a jam shot straight to third base by Cimini, though, falling right in the lap of Luke Broadhurst and resulting in a double play.
Still, Leary’s moonshot gave BC just enough wiggle room for the remainder of the contest, and the Eagles built on their lead in the top of the ninth. A UConn infield error plated two more runs for BC to make the final score 7–4. Kipp walked away with the win, and Leary, McNulty, DeShazo, Magpoc, and Kyle Wolff all gathered at least one hit.
