BC BASEBALL: Baldelli Walks Off BC to Win Series

Box Score (PDF) | Walk-off Grand Slam (VIDEO)

BRIGHTON, Mass. – Sophomore Dante Baldelli lifted the Boston College baseball team to a 6-2 win over Virginia Tech in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon with a walk-off grand slam. The Eagles (9-11, 4-4 ACC) scored all six runs on home runs, the first ones launched at newly constructed Brighton Baseball Field.

Junior starter Dan Metzdorf struck out a career-high 13, the most for any BC pitcher in 11 years, to keep the Hokies (9-12, 3-5 ACC) at bay. The southpaw did not walk a batter, allowed just two hits and one run while tying a career-high eight innings pitched.

Seniors Mitch Bigras and Jake Palomaki hit the other two homers for the Eagles in back-to-back fashion in the third inning.

The victory gave the Eagles the series win over Virginia Tech, the first ACC series win of 2018.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Boston College 6, Virginia Tech 2
Records: Virginia Tech (9-12, 3-5 ACC) at Boston College (9-11, 4-4 ACC)
Series: BC wins the series, 2-1
Location: Brighton Baseball Field in Brighton, Mass.

BC HIGHLIGHTS

• Junior LHP Dan Metzdorf struck out a career-high 13 over eight innings, which tied a career high. He allowed just two hits and one run and did not walk a batter in the no-decision. The strikeouts were the most for the Eagles in 11 years.
• Sophomore Dante Baldelli‘s first career home run was a good one as he launched a grand slam to walk off the Eagles in the bottom of the ninth. The four RBIs were a career high. The centerfielder also robbed Virginia Tech of a potential home run in the eighth with a catch at the wall.
• Senior Mitch Bigras hit the first-ever home run at Brighton Baseball Field with a solo shot to break a scoreless tie in the third. He launched one over the right-field wall for his first of the season.
• Senior Jake Palomaki followed Bigras with a homer of his own. It was his second of the season and he has reached base safely in the last 14 games.
• Sophomore Jack Cunningham has a hit in 16 of the Eagles’ 20 games this season.
• Sophomore Brian Dempsey has reached base safely in the 19 of the 20 games this year and with two hits on the day, he has at least one hit in 28 of the last 40 games played, dating back to last season.
• Redshirt freshman LHP Joey Walsh picked up his first career win, getting the final out of the ninth.

KEY PLAYS

• With the bases loaded in a tie game, Baldelli launched one over the left-field wall to give the Eagles a walk-off win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Eagles scored two on back-to-back solo shots by Bigras and Palomaki with two outs in the third.
• The Hokies made it a one-run game in the fifth. Darion Jacoby recorded Virginia Tech’s second hit of the game with a single to right. He moved to third on a wild pitch and a come-backer to the mound. Jacoby scored on another wild pitch before Metzdorf ended the inning with another K.
• Virginia Tech tied the game in the top of the ninth off junior RHP Sean Hughes. The Hokies loaded the bases with one out with a hit by pitch, single and intentional walk. Hughes got the second out swinging but walked Darion Jacoby to bring in the tying run. Walsh entered and forced a fly ball to end the inning.
• BC loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning on a walk, intentional walk and hit by pitch. With two down, Baldelli blasted one to left for the walk-off victory in grand fashion.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• BC is 14-6 at home against Tech and 19-24 in the all-time series.  The Eagles have won four of the last five at home and collect their fifth series win, the first since 2016.
• The series win marked the first ACC series win for the Eagles in 2018.
• Bigras’s and Palomaki’s back-to-back home runs were the first consecutive for BC since 2013 when Chris Shaw and Matt Paré completed the feat at Georgia Tech on March 16, 2013.
• The last BC pitcher to record 13 strikeouts was Terry Doyle on April 21, 2007, on a 4-3 win against Wake Forest.
• The Eagles did not commit an error for the ninth game in 2018.