A historic season came to an end on Sunday afternoon as Boston College baseball fell to Liberty for the second time in three days, knocking the Eagles out of the Athens Regional with an 8–3 loss. 

The Eagles, who are coming off the greatest season in program history after winning 17 ACC games and 37 overall, went up 2–0 early in Sunday’s win-or-go-home matchup. But a five-run third inning from Liberty (43–20, 21–9 CUSA) proved too much for BC (37–23, 17–13 ACC) to overcome, and the Eagles exited the game with a trip back to Chestnut Hill looming. 

Ty Mainolfi smacked a home run to right center on just the second at-bat of the game, giving BC an early lead. Brady Miller got off to an efficient start, too, pitching a 1-2-3 first inning. Luke Gallo hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the second, and Gunnar Johnson drove him home with an RBI single. It seemed like the Eagles were rolling. 

Only, that didn’t last. 

Miller retired three batters in order in the bottom of the second, including striking out two. But things started to go south in the third, as a pop up from Jack Toomey stranded Nick Wang on second. The bottom of the frame was when things spiraled out of control. 

A throwing error allowed Liberty to get a runner on second before the Flames had registered a hit. A hit-by-pitch, walk, and a two-RBI single later, Liberty had tied the game. Another BC error—this time in the form of a failed pickoff attempt by Miller—allowed another runner to get home. An RBI triple from Jordan Jaffe and an RBI double from Nick Barone were the icing on the cake. Just like that, Liberty had stolen a 5–2 lead. 

The Flames added on another run in the fourth thanks to a home run from Josh Campos. The Eagles, meanwhile, were unable to generate any offense. Gallo managed a single in the sixth, but that was the Eagles’ only hit after the second inning. 

Liberty scored three more runs across the sixth and seventh innings after Sean Hard relieved Miller. Down 8–2 in the bottom of the seventh, John Kwiatkowski came in for Hard and forced two quick outs to send the game into the eighth. 

Wang and Kyle Wolff both drew walks in the eighth, but a Johnson strikeout ended the frame. Though sophomore transfer John Mitchell was able to silence the Flames in the bottom of the eighth and the Eagles generated one run in the ninth, a Wang flyout ultimately ended BC’s time in Athens—and its season.