BC BASEBALL: Nine Run Ninth Gives Miami 14-5 Win

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On a warm and windy day at Shea Field, the Miami Hurricanes, who came into this series as the worst hitting team in the ACC with a .214 team batting average, looked anything but. They banged out 18 hits and broke a five-all tie with nine in the ninth to defeat the Eagles 14-5 and take the first two games of the weekend series.

After the game, BC coach Mike Gambino said “it was 100% my fault and I need to do a better job of managing innings”.

The Eagles got off to a good start taking the lead in the very first inning. Leadoff hitter Donovan Casey got it started with a single to left. He was sacrificed to second by Jake Palomaki, one of three such bunts on the day for BC. Casey would score on a RBI single to right by Michael Strem, 1-0 BC.

The Canes got the run right back with three straight hits from Hunter Tackett, Edgar Michelangeli and Christopher Barr, his being of the RBI variety tie the game at 1-1.

The Eagles came right back with three more runs in their turn at bat in the bottom of the second against starter Michael Medaville. The first four hitters of the inning reached base with the number nine hitter Brian Dempsey coming through with a RBI base knock to right. He would be followed by Donovan Casey with a sac fly to right, then Palomaki finished the uprising with a RBI single to left, 3-1 Eagles.

Eagles starter Dan Metzdorf was staked a two-run advantage. He would give one of those runs back in the third when Randy Batista led off the third by reaching base on a fielding error by third baseman Dempsey. The next batter, Michael Burns doubled to LF to bring Batista home to cut the lead to one, 3-2.

Each team would score in the sixth. The Hurricanes run came off the bat of Tackett who took an outside fastball from Metzdorf and drove it off the scoreboard in RF for his second dinger of the season. It would be one of four hits on the day for the Miami DH. He would finish the day a triple short of the cycle while driving in three and scoring three times.

The Eagles got that one back in the bottom of the inning, as Jacob Yish reached base on an infield hit and move to second on a throwing error by Ronny Gonzalez. He would come around to score on a base hit by Casey. Eagles now led 5-3.

The Canes tied the game in the eight with Metzdorf still on the hill for the Eagles. He gave up back to back hits to Carl Chester and Nico Baldor. Coach Gambino went to the mound to get his starter and bring on Casey to pitch. A move the coach said afterward he should have made to start the inning. The first man Casey faced was Tackett who rope and RBI double to left field scoring both runners and tying the game at 5-5.

And then came the ninth where the Canes would bat around the order and score nine times on six hits with three of them being home runs. Gonzalez had a two-run shot to CF, his eight of the year. Batista and Burns went back to back against the Eagles bullpen. For Batista, his first of the season and for Burns, his third and both were no doubters. By the time the inning was completed Miami had a 14-5 cushion.

Not to be overlooked in the Hurricanes offense onslaught was the work of their bullpen who held the Eagles to six hits and one run. Evan McKendry, Albert Maury JR, Andrew Cathezas, and Cooper Hammond kept Boston College at bay until their teammates went off with their bats.

The win goes to Cabezas who is now 3-2 on the year. The loser was Casey who is now 2-2.

Game three is set for Sunday afternoon as Greg Veliz goes for Miami while Brian Rapp toes the rubber for the Eagles.