BC sweeps Notre Dame and heads to Postseason

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It was an interesting day at the Heights. Not only was it Senior Day for the BC baseball team, and there were five of them honored before the game, it would be the Eagles farewell ballgame to Shea Field as well. The program will move into their new digs about a mile down the road next spring.

There was also the matter of trying to win VS Notre Dame which would, if they pulled it off, send them to Louisville Ky. for next week’s ACC tournament. All prayers were answered in the bottom of the eighth inning on a base-loaded walk to one of those Seniors, SS Johnny Adams. It propelled the Eagles, who at one point trailed 7-3, to a heart-stopping 8-7 win and a sweep of the series and the #11 seed in next week’s event.

This was not easy from the start. Junior Brian Rapp got the start for BC and struggled in his four innings of work. He gave up six hits and seven runs. He would turn the game over to the bullpen who pitched lights out over the final five innings. The trio of Camden Giampetruzzi, Luke Fernandez another of those seniors and Donovan Casey allowed no runs and only two hits. Their work gave the offense a chance to get back into the game.

Down 7-3 halfway through the game, the Eagles came to life. A sac fly off the bat of LF Jake Alu brought the Eagles to within 7-4. In the sixth, a fielding error by first baseman Daniel Jung on a ground ball hit by DH Jacob Yish plated Mitch Bigras to make the score 7-5 after six innings.

In the seventh BC tied the game after a walk to Gian Martellini and a single from Alu. Both runners moved up on a passed ball, one run scored when Bigras single to RF. He would be thrown out trying to stretch it into a double, 7-6 ND. The inning continued when Adams hit a deep triple to LF scoring Alu and tying the game at 7-7.

The comeback would be completed in the bottom of the eighth. After Casey began the frame with a single and was sac bunted to second, back to back walks to Martellini and Bigras brought Adams to the plate with the bases loaded and the game on the line. He delivered with a walk of his own scoring Casey and giving the Eagles their first lead of the day at 8-7.

Casey, who was pitching on his third straight day, took care of the rest retiring the Irish in the ninth despite putting the tying run in scoring position.

For Boston College, it finished up a final homestand in which they went a perfect 6-0. More importantly, it puts them back in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament for the second year in a row, as they finished with a league record of 11-19 and 25-26 overall. Notre Dame is also headed to Louisville with a 10-20 conference mark and a 26-30 overall record.

The tournament begins on Tuesday with Pool play. For Boston College, they are in pool B.