BC BASEBALL Swipes Six Bases in a 9-5 Victory

Box Score (PDF)

BRIGHTON, Mass. – The Boston College baseball team won its third straight with a 9-5 victory over Quinnipiac on Wednesday evening at the Brighton Baseball Field. The Eagles (12-19) have never lost to The Bobcats (14-17), improving to 7-0 in the all-time series.

Sophomore Dante Baldelli and junior Gian Martellini led the way at the plate, both going 2-for-3 with two RBIs on the night. Martellini triples and extended his on-base streak to 18 games, the longest of the season for any Eagle, while Baldelli tied an individual season high with three stolen bases. The Eagles stole a season-high six bases on the day.

Redshirt freshman left-hander Joey Walsh (2-0) picked up the win, throwing 2.2 innings in relief. He allowed one hit and one unearned run. He did not walk a batter and struck out three. Junior RHP Thomas Lane pitched the final 1.1 innings, collecting his third save of the season. He did not allow a hit, walk or run in his outing.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Boston College 9, Quinnipiac 5
Records: Quinnipiac (14-17) at Boston College (12-19)
Location:  Brighton Baseball Field in Brighton, Mass.

BC HIGHLIGHTS

• Sophomore Dante Baldelli went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. He stole three bases in the game, tying Chris Galland for the most in a single game.
• Junior Gian Martellini was also 2-for-3 with two RBIs. He tripled, scored and extended his on-base streak to 18 games, the longest of the season for a BC player.
• Freshman Chris Galland went 2-for-4 with two runs and two stolen bases to bring his ACC-leading total to 22 swipes. He is a perfect 22-for-22 on the stolen base path is third on BC’s single-season record list. He also is riding a six-game hit streak.
• Senior Jake Palomaki turned a 2-for-4 performance with two runs and an RBI. He has reached base in 28 of the 31 games this season with a hit in 24 of them.
• Redshirt freshman LHP Joey Walsh picked up his second win, improving to 2-0, throwing 2.2 innings in relief. He allowed one hit and one unearned run. He did not walk a batter and struck out three.
• Junior RHP Thomas Lane pitched the final 1.1 innings, collecting his third save of the season. He did not allow a hit, walk or run in his outing.
• Junior Jake Alu tallied a hit for the fifth straight game, scored and drove in two.

KEY PLAYS

• Trailing by two, the Eagles scored five runs on five hits in the seventh to take a 7-5 lead.
• Walsh and Lane combined to finish the game without allowing the Bobcats to score, preserving the lead.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Quinnipiac got on the board in the first inning, scoring two. A lead-off walk and single put two on before sophomore right-handed starter Matt Gill got a strikeout and fly ball for two quick outs. Kyle Horton knocked one to left. Galland attempted a sliding grab, but the ball skipped away, allowing both runners to score.
• The Eagles cut into the lead in the second and tied the game in the fourth. In the second, Martellini led off with a triple to right center and redshirt junior Scott Braren drove him in with a groundout to first. Baldelli started the third with a single to right and stole second before Martellini plated him with a base hit through the right side.
• The Bobcats retook the lead in the fifth. Evan Vulgamore tallied a two-out, infield single and stole second to move into scoring position. Horton plated him with a double to center. Ben Gibson followed with single to left center to give Quinnipiac a 4-2 advantage.
• BC made it a one-run game in the sixth. With runners on second and third, sophomore Jack Cunningham hit a sac fly to center, allowing Palomaki – who had started the inning with a bunt single – to tag up.
• The Bobcats made it a 5-3 game in the seventh with Walsh on the hill. Brian Moskey was hit by a pitch to start the inning and he moved to second on a grounder. With two down, a third strike skipped away from catcher Martellini, allowing the batter Horton to reach first. When Martellini threw down to first, Moskey was already rounding third and was able to score, as the throw to first was not in time.
• The Eagles took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the inning, scoring five runs on five singles off reliever RHP Joe Preciado. Galland led off with an infield single, stole second and scored on a base hit up the middle by Alu. Sophomore Joe Suozzi followed with a single through the right side, moving Alu to third on the hit and run. Palomaki drove in Alu from second with another base hit up the middle. Palomaki and Suozzi moved up a wild pitch and Baldelli brought in both with a single through the right side. With runners on second and third after a walk and another wild pitch, Martellini hit a lineout to center for a sac fly for the fifth run of the inning.
• BC notched its final run of the game in the eighth off LHP Connor Mahoney. Galland singled to left, stole second and advanced to third on a sac bunt by sophomore Brian Dempsey. Alu grounded one second and Quinnipiac’s Kevin Huscher threw home. His throw was not in time to get the speedy Galland.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• The Eagles have never lost to the Bobcats, improving to 7-0 all-time.
• BC did not record an error for the 15^th time this season.
• The Eagles stole a season-high six bases in the game.
• They recorded double-digit hits for the 17^th time this season.
• The Eagles’ three-game win streak is the longest of the season.

UP NEXT
The Eagles host Wake Forest for a three-game series beginning on Friday, April 13 at 6 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra. On Saturday, the Eagles will officially name the field with a pregame dedication ceremony. Fan activities begin at 1 p.m.