BC Baseball: Weekend Preview at Wake Forest

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Weekend Preview: BC BASEBALL Heads to Winston-Salem
BC takes on 17th-ranked Wake Forest

GAME NOTES | ACC Weekly Release

THE FACTS

MATCHUP: at Boston College (18-24, 7-17 ACC) at No. 17 Wake Forest (30-13, 13-8 ACC)
WHERE: David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C.
WHEN: Friday, May 5 at 6 p.m. | Saturday, May 6 at 4 p.m. | Sunday, May 7 at 1 p.m.
RECORD vs. Wake Forest: Wake leads the series, 17-16

HOW TO FOLLOW
ACC Network Extra: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Listen: Saturday – WBNW 102.9 FM & 1120 AM
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Twitter: @BCBirdball

THE MATCHUP

Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Jacob Stevens (4-5, 4.52 ERA) vs. RHP Parker Dunshee (7-1, 3.93 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Dan Metzdorf (2-5, 4.65 ERA) vs. RHP Donnie Sellers (3-3, 4.37 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Brian Rapp (2-2, 3.83 ERA) vs. RHP Connor Johnstone (6-0, 3.07 ERA)

Scouting The Demon Deacons

Wake Forest comes into the series ranked as high as 17^th in national polls.

The Demon Deacons are an offensive powerhouse, second in the ACC with a .314 team batting average, and first with a .524 slugging percentage. They rank second in the nation with 74 home runs and first with 1.72 homers per game. Wake’s 8.3 runs per game are seventh in the country.

The Deacons’ 4.19 team ERA is eighth in the conference while their .973 fielding percentage ranks sixth in the league.

Wake has won four ACC series in 2017, sweeping Notre Dame and earning 2-1 victories at Miami, at Duke and against NC State. The Demon Deacons fell at Clemson and at Louisville, but salvaged a game in each series.

Jonathan Pryor leads the way at the plate with a .388 batting average, which ranks fifth in the conference. Stuart Fairchild is right behind him, ranking eighth with a .358 clip. Pryor’s 69 hits rank third in the league while Fairchild’s 63 are eighth.

Johnny Aiello and Gavin Sheets have launched 15 home runs each, good for second in the ACC, while Sheets leads the conference with 63 RBIs on the year.

Friday night’s starter Parker Dunshee is fifth in the conference with 76 strikeouts. He averages 10.31 Ks per game. In his last outing against No. 3 Clemson, the righty went seven innings, allowed 10 hits, five runs – four earned – one walk and struck out three in a no-decision.

Saturday’s go-to Donnie Sellers got through 4.2 innings against the Tigers in game one of a doubleheader, allowing six hits, six runs – three earned – two walks and four Ks.

Sunday starter Connor Johnstone holds a perfect 6-0 record, including five conference wins. His 3.07 ERA is 11^th in the conference. He picked up the victory in the series finale against Clemson in his last outing, throwing six innings, allowing seven hits, two runs, two walks with one strikeout.

All three starters threw against the Eagles in last year’s meeting. Dunshee picked up the win in the first game, going five innings, allowing five hits, four runs – three earned – with five walks and six Ks. Sellers threw 4.1 innings of relief, allowing seven hits, three runs – two earned – four walks and three Ks in two appearances. He was tabbed with the game-two, extra-innings loss. Johnston shouldered the loss in the final game, allowing nine hits and four runs – one earned – over a 6.1-inning start. He did not walk a batter and struck out three.

THE SERIES

The Eagles travel to Winston-Salem to take on 17th-ranked Wake Forest in a critical conference series.

BC is currently in 13th place in the ACC standings, but sits one game of out to earn a spot in the ACC Tournament.

The Demon Deacons have a slight advantage in the all-time series, 17-16.

Wake has won six of the 11 series as the two teams have met every year in a three-game set since BC joined the ACC in 2006.

The Eagles have won five series, including two under seventh-year head coach Mike Gambino (2012, 2016).

BC has swept three times (2007, 2010, 2012), as has Wake.

With the Deacons ranked as high as 17th, it is the fourth time BC will take on a ranked ACC opponent this season.

The only other time WF was ranked coming into a set with BC was in 2006, in the first-ever meeting, and the Deacons earned a series sweep as the No. 25 team in the country.

The Eagles are 1-2 against the Demon Deacons in extra-inning games, dropping the first two (2011, 2013), before taking a 10th-inning victory last season.

BC has walked off Wake four times. The Eagles earned a series sweep with two walk-offs in 2007, including one game that lasted 17 innings. In 2014, the win came on a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth and last year, BC took the first of a doubleheader victory by scoring on a throwing error in the 10th.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE EAGLES

Boston College has won six of the last nine ACC games, taking two of three at Duke, sweeping NC State at home and picking up one against Miami.

The Eagles have also won six of their last 10 games, and nine of the last 13, including two over Harvard and one at UMass Lowell.

The trio of BC starters – sophomores RHP Jacob Stevens and LHP Dan Metzdorf and junior RHP Brian Rapp – allowed just eight earned runs and seven total walks to Miami over the weekend.

In the last two ACC weekends (Miami, NC State), the three have allowed just 12 earned runs, 11 walks and struck out 24. They have amassed a 2.45 ERA.

BC has not made an error in 18 games this season and turned 34 double plays, which is fifth in the ACC.

BC’s 63 stolen bases are third in the ACC and rank 38th nationally. The Eagles have stolen at least four bases in a game five times this season.

Rapp threw the first complete game of his career – a three-hit shutout – to complete the sweep of NC State in the second game of a doubleheader on April 30. He allowed just five base runners on the day and none advanced past first base. He struck out six, walked just two and all three hits were singles. It was the first complete-game shutout since Mike King recorded on against No. 24 Georgia Tech on April 17, 2015. He is one of five ACC pitchers to complete a game this season. On Sunday against Miami, Rapp allowed just four hits and two runs over a seven-inning start, walking three with two Ks. In four of his six ACC starts this season, Rapp has 24 strikeouts, just seven walks and four runs over 30.0 innings (No. 6 Clemson, at Virginia Tech, NC State, Miami). He has not allowed a run twice.

Sophomore Gian Martellini has started 41 games for the Eagles behind the plate and logged at least one hit in 34 of them. He has never recorded two straight games without a hit and has at least one in the last nine, registering a career long hit streak, which is also the longest of the season for the Eagles. In that span, he has tallied 11 hits, three runs, three doubles, a triple and home run, seven RBIs, 19 total bases and two walks. Martellini recorded a career-high five RBIs in the victory over Duke on April 15 with his first career grand slam.

Stevens has gone at least seven innings in his last three starts (at Duke, NC State, Miami), allowed three runs or less each outing, and struck out 13 total. He has a 2.70 ERA in his last three starts, highlighted by allowing just one hit and one run over a seven-inning start at Duke on April 14, tying a career high for innings pitched. His 3.47 career ERA is currently sixth in BC record books.

Junior RHP Donovan Casey entered BC’s single-season record books tied for eighth with five save on the year. He got the final two outs in the one-run ballgame against Harvard on April 19 and then threw a 123 ninth, striking out the final batter in a 12-pitch at bat, against NC State on April 23. He combined with Stevens to throw a one-hitter at Duke on April 14, retiring all six batters faced with one strikeout. His five saves on the season is tied for sixth in the ACC.

Freshman Brian Dempsey has hit his stride in the second half of the season. He has logged at least one hit in eight of the last 10 games played, including a career-long, six-game hit streak. In those 10 games, he recorded a .500 batting average (14-for-28) with five runs, two RBIs and three stolen bases. He laid down a team season-high three sacrifice bunts against Miami on April 29, including one for an RBI.

Sophomore Jake Alu has hit in 10 of the last 12 games and has reached base safely in all 12 of those games, the second-longest streak this season. He leads the Eagles with a .333 batting average and 30 hits in ACC games. His .328 overall average also leads the team and his 10 stolen bases is tied for first. He recorded a career-high four hits in the victory at Duke on April 15.

Freshman Jacob Yish has played in 18 games for the Eagles and has recorded a hit in 12 of them. He has recorded a hit in the last four games, a career long. Yish tallied career-high three hits at Duke on April 15, logging his first career double, a career-high two runs and tied a career high with two RBIs.

-BC-