BC BASEBALL Starts Midweek Action in the Carolinas

THE FACTS

WHERE: Asheville, N.C. (Greenwood Field) | Greenville, S.C. (Fluor Field)
WHEN: Tuesday, March 6 at 4 p.m. | Wednesday, March 7 at noon
OPPONENTS: UNC Asheville (2-8 | Wofford (6-5)
RECORDS vs. OPPONENTS: 0-0 at UNC Asheville | 0-1 vs. Wofford

HOW TO FOLLOW
Tuesday: Video Stream| Live Stats
Wednesday: Live Stats
Twitter:  @BCBirdball

THE MATCHUP

Pitching Matchups
TUESDAY: RHP Matt Gill (0-0, 6.00 ERA) vs. RHP Danny Wilson (0-0, 10.80 ERA)
WEDNESDAY: RHP Jack Nelson (0-0, 16.20 ERA) vs. RHP Clay Schwaner (0-2, 6.75 ERA)

Scouting the teams

• UNC Asheville is 2-8 and just lost a three-game series at No. 3 Florida State. The Bulldogs’ two wins came against Lipscomb and Wofford.
• The meeting will be first at Greenwood Field in Asheville.
• The Bulldogs are led by Carmine Pagano, who is batting .302 with 13 hits, including three doubles, and five RBIs.
• The Eagles will face RHP Danny Wilson, who has made two appearances in 2018, including one start. In 3.1 innings, he has allowed six hits, four runs – all earned – and one walk.
• UNCA’s head coach is very familiar with the Eagles. Scott Friedholm came to The Heights with head coach Mike Gambino in 2011. He led the pitching staff and catches from 2011 through 2014, when he garnered the head job in Asheville.
• Wofford is 6-5 and takes on No. 10 Clemson on Tuesday before battling the Eagles on Wednesday. The game will be played at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., home of the Red Sox affiliate Greenville Drive.
• The Terriers are coming off a three-game sweep of Penn at home.
• They are led by Mack Nathanson, who is batting .389 in 11 starts with 11 runs, 14 hits, including three home runs, and 11 RBIs.
• BC will face RHP Clay Schwaner, who has made three appearances with two starts. He is looking for his win of the season after going 0-2 to start the season. In 10.2 innings of work, he has allowed 16 hits, 10 runs – eight earned – three walks and struck out nine.

THE SERIES

• BC travels to UNC Asheville to play the Bulldogs for the first time in program history.
• The Eagles then play Wofford at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, a minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Former BC catcher Nick Sciortino (2014-16) saw time with the Drive in 2017.
• In the only other meeting against the Terriers, the Eagles feel, 8-4, in the 2015 season opener in Spartanburg, S.C.
• It is not the first time BC will play in a stadium connected to the Red Sox. The Eagles took on the Big League team in a seven-inning exhibition game on Feb. 22 at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. They will also host Florida State at Fenway Park on April 21 for the Seventh Annual ALS Awareness Game in honor of former captain Pete Frates (2004-07).

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE EAGLES

• The Boston College baseball team is 4-5 after a 1-2 weekend at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C.
• The Eagles started the weekend with an 11-3 victory against Niagara on Friday, but lost the next two, 9-8, to Bryant on a walkoff and 11-1 to Army on Sunday.
• Sophomore Brian Dempsey has a hit in seven of the Eagles’ nine games this season, now tallying at least one in 21 of the last 29 games played. He also reached base safely in the first eight games of the season. His .419 batting average is fifth in the ACC.
• Freshman Chris Galland extended his career-long hit streak to five games against Army on March 4. In his four career starts, he is 8-for-14 with eight runs, five RBIs and four stolen bases. He has yet to strike out in 15 at bats and leads the Eagles with stolen bases and a .600 batting clip.
• Senior Jake Palomaki broke the Boston College all-time walks record in just three years and he continues to add to the total, which is currently 124. He has reached base safely 293 times in his BC career, 10th all-time. His .425 career on-base percentage is sixth, the 42 career stolen bases is tied for fifth and his 17 sacrifice hits is tied for ninth.
• Junior Gian Martellini has a hit in six of BC’s nine games with three multi-hit games. The catcher has also thrown out five base runners stealing and been part of two strikeout-throw out double plays.
• Senior RHP Brian Rapp turned in one of his best starts of his career to start the season. He threw six no-hit innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts on Feb. 18. He walked just one and hit one batter for the only two base runners of his outing. The performance earned him ACC Pitcher of the Week. He then tied the career-high strikeout total against Army on March 4 in a 5.1-inning start.
• Junior RHP Thomas Lane has started the season strong. In five appearances, he has a 0.90 ERA with seven Ks. He earned his first career save in the rubber match at Santa Clara on Feb. 18, coming in with the bases loaded and one out in a 3-1 game. He picked up a win on Feb. 25, throwing the final 1.1 innings against Rutgers and striking out two. In 10 innings of work, he has allowed just one earned run.
• Sophomore Jack Cunningham has a hit in seven of the Eagles’ first nine games and is on a career-high, four-game hit streak. He put up career numbers in the second game of the season, tallying three hits on the day with one run and one RBI.
• Junior RHP Jacob Stevens has two starts without allowing a run: the season-opening win at Santa Clara (Feb. 16) where he threw five and struck out eight and the victory over Niagara (March 2) when he tied a career-high seven innings pitched, allowed just one hit and struck out nine. His 3.85 career ERA is ninth in BC record books.
• Freshmen LHP Will Hesslink (2.0 IP) and RHP Jack Hodgson (2.0 IP) have not allowed an earned run in their relief outings this season.