BC Baseball Wins Opener at Jackson State

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Sal Frelick Homers and Goes 3-for-4 in Debut

JACKSON, Miss. – The Boston College baseball team opened the 2019 season with a 7-3 win over Jackson State at Braddy Field on Friday evening. The Eagles start the season 1-0 after winning their season opener for the second year in a row.

Freshman designated hitter Sal Frelick (Lexington, Mass.) started his collegiate career with a single in the top of the first inning and promptly stole second base. He later singled for a second time in the third before breaking a scoreless tie in the fifth. Frelick got BC on the board with a two-run blast high in the air to deep right field.

Senior pitcher Dan Metzdorf (Burlington, Mass.), who became the first lefty to start opening day for the Eagles in the Mike Gambino era, pitched seven innings of one-run ball, which was unearned. He kept the Tigers scoreless through five until an error of his own allowed a runner to reach and ultimately come around to score.

Trailing 7-1 in the ninth, Jackson State rallied for two runs and BC went to its second pitcher of the inning with the bases loaded and nobody out. Senior RHP John Witkowski (Melrose, Mass.) entered and earned his first save of the season. He struck out the first batter faced before a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

GAME INFORMATION

Score: Boston College 7, Jackson State 1

Records: Boston College (1-0), Jackson State (0-1)

Location: Braddy Field (Jackson, Miss.)

Attendance: 901

BC HIGHLIGHTS

· In the second, the BC defense made a pair of web gems as Dante Baldelli started the inning with a sliding catch in center and shortstop Brian Dempsey snagged a liner over his head to end it.

· Frelick hit a two-run home run; the first of his career, in the top of the fifth inning.

· BC poured in five runs on three hits, including a two-run, two-out single by Galland, and an error in the eighth inning.

· The Eagle defense ended the game by turning a 6-4-3 double play behind Witkowski. Dempsey and freshman second baseman Cody Morissette teamed up for the middle infield combination for the first time.

GAME NOTES

· The game marked the first meeting between the two schools and the first for BC in the state of Mississippi since winning the 2016 Oxford Regional.

· Boston College is 23-24 in season openers on record.

· Galland recorded the 18^th multi-hit and fourth multi-RBI game of his career.

· Frelick went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases.

UP NEXT

The Eagles and Tigers play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Junior right-hander Matt Gill (Simsbury, Conn.) gets the ball in game one and senior lefty Zach Stromberg (Lafayette, Calif.) tosses the nightcap.

Boston College 7, Jackson State 3 (Feb 15, 2019, at Jackson, MS)

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Boston College…. 000 020 050 – 7 9 2 (1-0)

Jackson State……. 000 001 002 – 3 6 2 (0-1)

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Pitchers: Boston College – Dan Metzdorf; Thomas Lane(8); Will Hesslink(9); John Witkowski(9) and Gian Martellini; Aaron Soucy. Jackson State – A. Becerra; G. Cahill(6); S. Ross(8); B. Valentin(8) and M. Luiz.

Win-Dan Metzdorf(1-0) Save-John Witkowski(1) Loss-A. Becerra(0-1) T-2:48 A-901

HR BC – Sal Frelick.

S. Ross faced 4 batters in the 8th.

Hesslink, W faced 4 batters in the 9th.