To call Boston College the underdog would be an understatement.
No. 22 BC baseball started the season unranked, coming off a relatively inconsequential 2025 season, save for some ACC Tournament magic. The Eagles were picked dead last in the ACC preseason poll, and have spent the last 31 games rewriting that narrative.
While students went home for Easter Break, the Eagles (22–9, 9–4 Atlantic Coast) flew to Chapel Hill on Thursday evening to face conference foe No. 6 UNC (25–5–1, 9–4). Backed by solid pitching and their classic small-ball game, the Eagles topped the Tar Heels 6–1 in BC’s biggest upset of the season.
“I think we just try to stay internal with all of our expectations, and I think our guys kind of had a quiet confidence about them going through the preseason, and I think they just carried that into the season,” BC baseball head coach Todd Interdonato said. “All this stuff kind of happening is just part of the journey.”
UNC struck first with an aggressive play, as Owen Hull stole third and then scored on a throwing error by Gunnar Johnson in the bottom of the second. But that 1–0 lead would be the only time the Tar Heels would hold the advantage over the Eagles.
Julio Solier recorded BC’s first hit of the game in the third inning. He doubled to reach second and advanced to third courtesy of a Ty Mainolfi groundout. Nick Wang notched a sacrifice fly, scoring Solier and tying the game 1–1 to round out the top of the third.
Starting pitcher A.J. Colarusso retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the third, then gave up a single and a walk to put two runners on base. But Colarusso recovered, forcing a flyout to end the inning.
Carter Hendrickson was hit by a pitch in the top of the fourth, then advanced to second on a Luke Gallo groundout. BC took the lead with a base hit from Johnson that brought Hendrickson home.
BC’s offense was able to produce, but it was on the mound that the Eagles really shined. Colarusso ended with no earned runs, seven strikeouts, and five hits in six innings pitched.
The sixth inning saw BC leaning into its small-ball play. Some strategic bunting allowed Johnson to single up the middle, bringing Danny Surowiec from first to third. Colin Larson singled to score Surowiec and put Johnson on second, prompting a UNC pitching change before the frame ended.
“When guys can just do some things like lay down a bunt to drive a runner from third, less than two outs, I just think it kind of alleviates some pressure from the hitters as opposed to asking them to stand there and get three hits in a row to score a run,” Interdonato said.
With a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the sixth, it was the Eagles’ game to lose.
Now at over 100 pitches, Colarusso let up a walk. Interdonato came up to the mound and took a moment to speak with the pitcher. Instead of bringing in a reliever, Colarusso continued the throw.
The decision paid off. The senior left-handed pitcher closed out the sixth by pitching a foul out and striking out Cooper Nicholson swinging.
“We just kind of like to match up with where they were in the lineup and the results that we’ve been getting,” Interdonato said. “It doesn’t always work out when you send a guy back out to try to get one more, but, you know, I think he walked the second guy in that inning—if my memory serves me right—but then after that, he was able to roll.”
Cesar Gonzalez relieved Colarusso in the bottom of the seventh and delivered a steady inning out of the bullpen, beginning with Carter French striking out looking. He gave up one single in the frame, but forced another strikeout from Erik Paulsen to keep the score at 3–1.
“[Gonzalez has] been able to come in so far this year and get multiple pitches on the plate,” Interdonato said. “I thought his fastball had some extra life to it tonight, and I thought he was able to kind of lean on that.”
Gallo ripped a leadoff double to open the eighth, immediately putting pressure on the Tar Heels. Johnson followed up by sneaking a single to short, putting Gallo in scoring position.’
Larson worked out a full count before drawing a walk that loaded the bases. Solier stepped up and earned a walk, too, sending Gallo home and raising BC’s lead to 4–1, still with the bases loaded. Despite the scoring potential, a UNC double play squashed the Eagles’ hopes to widen the gap.
Unyielding pitching followed from Gonzalez, though, as he pitched two strikeouts in the bottom of the eighth.
BC added some insurance runs in the ninth, as Wang reached on a fielding error and Jack Toomey hit an RBI triple to right field. Wang came home for the score, and Hendrickson’s sac fly scored Toomey to close out the inning. Gonzalez allowed a single in the bottom of the frame, but back-to-back fly outs ended the game in BC’s favor, putting the Eagles up 1–0 in the series.
“I think they have really good players, and I think we have really good players like everybody in this league,” Interdonato said. “The fact that our guys are playing confident and they’re just focused on the task at hand just simplifies the game for them.”
