BC BASEBALL Weekend Preview: BC vs Florida St.

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BC BASEBALL Weekend Preview: Eagles Open ACC Play in Tallahassee
BC starts conference slate at Florida State

Game Notes | ACC Weekly Release

THE FACTS

MATCHUP: Boston College (5-6, 0-0 ACC) at No. 2/3 Florida State (11-2, 0-0 ACC)
WHERE: Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla.
WHEN: Friday, March 10 at 6 p.m. | Saturday, March 11 at 6 p.m. | Sunday, March 12 at 1 p.m.
RECORD vs. FSU: Florida State leads the series, 29-4

HOW TO FOLLOW
ACC Network Extra: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Radio: 106.1 FM (Tallahassee)
Twitter: @BCBirdball
Live Stats: Link

THE MATCHUP

Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Jacob Stevens (1-0, 1.37 ERA) vs. RHP Cole Sands (2-0, 3.29 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Matt Gill (1-2, 6.00 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Holton (3-0, 0.47 ERA)
Sunday: LHP Dan Metzdorf (1-1, 2.60 ERA) vs. LHP Drew Parrish (1-0, 4.76 ERA)

Scouting the Seminoles

Florida State enters ACC play on a nine-game winning streak. Its last loss came at home against USF on Feb. 21 and the only other time the Seminoles faltered was a season-opening, 3-0 loss to VCU.

The Seminoles have yet to leave the state of Florida. They played the first seven games in the friendly confines of Dick Howser Stadium before defeating Jacksonville, 6-5, in the nearby city on Feb. 28. The Noles traveled to Orlando for a two-game, midweek set with UCF earlier this week.

FSU is seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a .271 batting average and third in the conference with a 2.62 team ERA.

Senior first baseman Quincy Nieporte is tied for third in the conference with 22 RBIs and leads the Noles with four home runs. Classmate infielder Taylor Walls leads the league with 20 walks and ranks fourth with 19 runs scored.

Friday starter RHP Cole Sands has started three games in 2017, tallying 10 strikeouts over 13.2 innings with two wins and one no decision. In his last start, on March 3 against Oakland, he went three innings, allowed seven hits, seven runs – three earned – two walks and struck out two.

Saturday starter LHP Tyler Holton leads the ACC with 32 strikeouts and a .113 opponent batting average. He is second in the league with a 0.47 ERA. He has also made three starts this season, garnering wins in all appearances. He threw six scoreless innings against Oakland on March 6, allowed just two hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 13.

LHP Drew Parrish will make his third start against the Eagles on Sunday. It will be his fifth appearance, has he made his first two in 2017 out of the bullpen. He has pitched 11.1 innings, allowed 10 hits, seven runs – six earned – three walks and struck out 12.

THE SERIES

For the fifth time since joining the ACC in 2006, Boston College will start league play in Tallahassee.

BC has four wins all-time against the Seminoles with 29 losses. The Noles have won the last 10 meetings between the two squads.

The Eagles are 2-10 at Florida State on ACC opening weekend with both wins coming in 2009.

BC has not collected a victory on the Noles’ home turf since seventh-year head coach Mike Gambino took over in 2011. He is 0-9.

The Eagles are 4-26 all-time when the Seminoles are ranked in the top five. Currently, FSU is ranked second or third in all national polls. BC beat the Noles as the No. 1 team in 2012 in Chestnut Hill.

The Eagles and Seminoles only played one game in 2016, with FSU coming away with a 3-0, Friday victory, as the other two games were cancelled due to weather.

ACC OPENING WEEKEND

The Eagles have played at least the first six conference games on the road since joining the league in 2006. They are 8-25 on ACC opening weekend.

BC has faced a ranked ACC foe every year to open conference play, except in 2008, when the Eagles swept Duke in Durham. Last year, they took two of three from eighth-ranked NC State in Raleigh and in 2009, they won the series, 2-1, in Tallahassee against No. 4 Florida State.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE EAGLES

Boston College enters ACC play with a 5-6 record after going 3-2 at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla.

BC’s 2.88 ERA is sixth in the league while the Eagles’ 28 stolen bases are tied with Duke for first in the ACC and tied for fifth in the nation. The Eagles steal 2.55 bases per game, first in the conference and fourth in the nation.

Friday starter sophomore RHP Jacob Stevens threw 19.2 innings to start 2017 before allowing an earned run in the Eagles’ victory over Central Michigan on March 3. He leads the BC pitching staff with a 1.37 ERA over 19.2 innings with 19 strikeouts. His ERA is tied for sixth in the ACC while his strikeout total is tied for ninth.

Sunday starter sophomore LHP Dan Metzdorf allowed just one run in his six-inning start against Villanova on March 5. He has a 2.60 ERA with 13 strikeouts over three starts in 2017.

Senior Michael Strem, who usually plays left or center field, has five outfield assists in the early goings of 2017. His career doubles total is up to 49, which are tied for fourth all-time in BC record books.

With an injury to junior Scott Braren, sophomore Jake Alu has stepped up. He recorded a career day against Villanova, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three stolen bases in his first career start, hitting in the nine spot as the designated hitter. He made his first career start in the field on March 7 against Toledo, playing left – the first time he ever set foot in the outfield – and made a diving catch in foul territory for the first out in the third. Alu has also pitched twice in 2017, throwing three innings, allowing two hits, one run and one walk and striking out three.

Junior Jake Palomaki leads the Eagles with 10 walks and five stolen bases, which are tied for eighth and sixth in the conference, respectively. His .091 walks per game are fifth in the league. His career totals are moving up the BC record books as he is fourth all-time with 98 career walks and seventh all-time with 39 career stolen bases.

Sophomore Gian Martellini was one of four players to tally four hits in the Snowbird Classic for the Eagles and lead the team with four RBIs. He leads the team with three multiple-RBI games and holds the teams’ highest batting average (.310), slugging percentage (.405) and RBI total (9). He tallied his first career caught stealing against Ball State (March 7) and has picked off three runners this season.

Strem and junior OF/RHP Donovan Casey have reached base in the last 10 games, leading the Eagles.

Casey and junior LHP Carmen Giampetruzzi recorded their first career victories at the Snowbird Classic. Giampetruzzi threw the eighth and ninth against CMU (March 3), recording a career-high five strikeouts and retired all six batters he faced. Casey picked up the win by pitching the final 1.2 innings against Toledo (3/7. He also notched a run and an RBI in the game.

Sophomore RHP Jack Nelson has not surrendered a run in five relief innings in 2017. He has allowed four hits, no walks and struck out seven. Against Toledo, he struck out a career-high six over four innings.