Weekend Preview: BC BASEBALL Hosts Wake Forest

THE FACTS

MATCHUP: Wake Forest (14-20, 7-8 ACC) at Boston College (12-19, 5-10 ACC)
WHERE: Harrington Athletics Village in Brighton, Mass.
WHEN: Friday, April 13 at 6 p.m. | Saturday, April 14 at 3 p.m. | Sunday, April 15 at 1 p.m.
RECORD vs. Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons lead the all-time series, 19-17

HOW TO FOLLOW
ACC Network Extra: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Live Stats
Radio: WZBC (Friday – Sunday)
Twitter:  @BCBirdball

THE MATCHUP

Pitching Matchups
FRIDAY: RHP Jacob Stevens (3-4, 4.57 ERA) vs. RHP Griffin Roberts (3-3, 3.05 ERA)
SATURDAY: LHP Dan Metzdorf (0-4, 5.08 ERA) vs. RHP Morgan McSweeney (1-4, 4.25 ERA)
SUNDAY: RHP Brian Rapp (3-3, 3.83 ERA) vs. RHP Colin Peluse (5-0, 3.04 ERA)

Scouting the Demon Deacons

• Wake Forest comes to The Heights 14-20 overall with seven wins in conference.
• The Demon Deacons have won just two of their 12 road games in 2018. They are 11th in the ACC with a .366 batting average, just below BC, 10^th in the league with a 4.66 team ERA and 13^th with a .965 fielding percentage.
• Wake heads BC after dropping a 9-2 decision to No. 17 Coastal Carolina on Tuesday. The Deacons took two of three from 10^th-ranked Duke in Winston-Salem over the weekend, including a 6-3 rubber match on Monday.
• The Demon Deacons also collected the series win against Louisville and Florida State at home, taking two of three from both. They were swept by North Carolina in Chapel Hill and lost two of three at Notre Dame.
• Bobby Seymour leads the Wake hitter with a .325 average while Johnny Aiello has launched a team-high seven home runs.
• Friday starter RHP Griffin Roberts leads the ACC with 79 strikeouts. He is 303 with a 3.05 ERA. Over 56 innings, he has allowed 43 hits, 19 runs, and 21 walks. In his last outing against the Blue Devils, Roberts struck out eight over an eight-inning start, picking up the win. He allowed five hits, two runs, and two walks.
• RHP Morgan McSweeney will throw on Saturday. He is 1-4 on the season with a 4.25 ERA. In 42.1 innings, he has allowed 42 hits, 29 runs – 20 earned – 20 walks and has struck out 42. Last weekend, he shouldered the loss to Duke, allowing six runs – four earned – over 5.1 innings, with two walks, five hits, and six Ks.
• Wake picked up the rubber match win behind the arm of RHP Colin Peluse. Over a seven-inning start, he allowing three runs, seven hits, two walks and struck out five. In eight starts in 2018, Peluse has not lost, going 4-0 with a 3.04 ERA. In 53.1 innings, he has allowed 44 hits, 22 runs – 18 earned – 12 walks and 39 strikeouts.

THE SERIES

• The Eagles host Wake Forest for a three-game set beginning on Friday.
• The Demon Deacons hold a slight, 19-17, advantage in the all-time series, which began when BC joined the ACC in 2006.
• Wake won the first three matchups, sweeping the 2006 series in Winston-Salem before BC came back to sweep the 2007 series at home.
• The Eagles have won five of the 12 series with three sweeps.
• The two teams have battled to three extra-inning games with Wake taking two of them.
• The last time the Demon Deacons traveled to The Heights, they won the first game before the Eagles collected a doubleheader victory, both by way of the walk-off.
• The Eagles are 6-4 in one-run games against Wake and 2-3 in a shutout game.
• In 13 at-bats vs. Wake, junior C Gian Martellini has six hits, including two doubles, while senior INF Jake Palomaki has eight hits, 11 runs and 15 walks in his career against Wake.
• Junior LHP Dan Metzdorf collected a win in last year’s meeting, combining with classmate RHP John Witkowski for a 6-0 shutout.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE EAGLES

• The Eagles have won the last three games, the longest win streak of the 2018 season. They earned a victory in the final game of the Pitt series after dropping both games of a doubleheader, including a 13-inning contest. They went on to beat Massachusetts, 9-2, on Tuesday and Quinnipiac, 9-5, on Wednesday.
• BC has not recorded an error in 15 games this season. The team’s .972 fielding percentage is eighth in the ACC but are fourth with 25 double plays.
• The Eagles stole a season-high six bases in the victory over Quinnipiac on Wednesday. Sophomore Dante Baldelli swiped three bases, tying freshman Chris Galland for the individual game high in 2018.
• Speaking of Galland, the speedster is a perfect 22-for-22 on the stolen base this season. He leads the ACC in swipes and ranks third in the nation. He is also third on BC’s single-season record list. He is currently on a six-game hit streak and is seventh in the ACC with a .343 batting average.
• Junior LHP Dan Metzdorf has recorded 30 strikeouts in his last three starts – 20.2 innings – including a 13 K performance against Virginia Tech on March 24.
• Three BC players rank in the top 11 in the ACC for their batting average: senior Jake Palomaki (sixth – .344), Galland (seventh – .343) and sophomore Brian Dempsey (11th – .330).
• Palomaki is sixth in the ACC with a .344 batting average. He has reached base in 28 of the 31 games this season with a hit in 24 of them. His 139 career walks are first in BC record books, as he topped the list in three years. He has reached base safely 343 times in his BC career, second all-time. His .430 career on-base percentage is sixth, the 53 career stolen bases are second and his 137 runs scored is sixth.
• Junior RHP Thomas Lane has inherited 20 runners in his 17 appearances out of the bullpen. None have scored. He is second on the bullpen staff with 19 Ks and has the lowest opponent batting average on the staff of just .147. He collected his third save of the season in the 9-5 victory over Quinnipiac on Wednesday.
• Junior Gian Martellini is second in the ACC with 12 runners caught stealing. He has reached base safely in the last 18 games played – the longest of the season for any BC player – and has at least one hit in five of the last seven games, including tying a career high with three hits at No. 12 Clemson on March 30.
• Dempsey is 11th in the conference with a .330 batting average. He has at least one hit in 23 of the Eagles’ 31 games this season and in 36 of the last 51 games played, dating back to last year. He has also reached base safely in the 28 of the 31 games this season.
• Sophomore Jake Goodreau made his first career start behind the plate on April 4 against Harvard. He doubled, drew two walks and tallied his first career RBI. In his last three games, he has logged four hits, five RBIs, and three walks. He tallied a career-high four RBIs in the win over UMass on April 10.
• Senior RHP Brian Rapp threw 6.2 innings without giving up a hit against Pitt on Sunday. He threw 127 pitches, allowed just one single, no runs and six walks with eight Ks. He and Lane combined for the second BC shutout of the season. Rapp has recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts twice in 2018: on six no-hit innings at Santa Clara (Feb. 18) and in a 5.1-inning start vs. Army (March 4).
• Sophomore Joe Suozzi walked onto the BC baseball team. He made his first career start on April 7 against Pittsburgh and recorded his first career hit and RBI. In four starts in right, he has logged four hits, two runs, an RBI and a double.