Boston College Sweeps Saturday Doubleheader

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Gill Gets Eagles Off On Right Foot in Game One

JACKSON, Miss. – The Boston College baseball team swept a Saturday doubleheader at Jackson State by scores of 11-2 and 9-5 at Braddy Field. The Eagles claimed the series and improved to 3-0 on the season.

BC played small ball to produce the first run of the day in the top of the second. Senior catcher Gian Martellini (Johnston, R.I.), who reached on four free passes leading off four innings, walked and scored from third on a safety-squeeze off the bat of senior third baseman Jake Alu (Hamilton, N.J.).

The Eagles blew the game open with six runs on four hits in the fourth. Freshman second baseman Cody Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) provided the first big knock of the inning with a two-run double into the right-field corner with two strikes. Alu drove in his second run of the game in the inning as Boston College poured in two more.

Junior right-hander Matt Gill (Simsbury, Conn.) took a no-hitter into the sixth before Jackson State’s Equan Smith singled with one away. Gill (1-0) pitched seven shutout innings, struck out three and allowed two singles and two walks.

In game two, Boston College got single runs in the first and third inning. The Eagles extended their lead to 7-0 with a five-run fourth as they batted around and then some. Morissette got the bats going with a bunt-single and freshman center fielder Sal Frelick (Lexington, N.H.) drove in the first two runs of the inning with a single to right-center.

Jackson State got back into the game with five runs in the middle innings. The Tigers scored two against BC senior left-handed starter Zach Stromberg (Lafayette, Calif.), who was lifted after 3.2 innings of work with two strikeouts and five walks.

In the sixth, JSU got three more runs against the Eagle bullpen on three hits and an error before senior RHP John Witkowski (Melrose, Mass.), the second BC reliever of the inning, got an inning-ending double play.

Senior right-hander Thomas Lane (Georgetown, Mass.) was credited with the win in 1.1 innings of relief. Lane (1-0), pitching for the second day in a row, struck out one and walked one.

DETAILS

Scores: Boston College 11-9, Jackson State 2-5

Records: Boston College (3-0), Jackson State (0-3)

Location: Braddy Field (Jackson, Miss.)

Attendance: 164

BC GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

· Martellini drew a leadoff walk in the second and scored from third as Alu deadened a bunt up the third base line. Martellini read the safety-squeeze and sprinted home evading the tag to the back side of the plate.

· In the third, Martellini and Morissette got the Eagles out of a runners-on-the-corners, a two-out situation with a 2-4-2 caught stealing at home.

· Frelick, who stole two bases in his debut, stole three more in the first game Saturday, including two in the fourth inning.

· After the Tigers broke up BC’s no-hit bid in the sixth, Gill bounced back to initiate a 1-6-3 double play a few pitches later to end the frame.

BC GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

· Galland led off the game with a single and scored on a Jack Cunningham base hit.

· Frelick hit his first career double in the third and scored from third on a wild pitch.

· BC sent 11 men to the plate in the fourth; scoring five runs on six hits.

· Galland stole his second bag of the game in the eighth and scored on a wild pitch.

GAME NOTES

· Alu recorded the sixth three-hit game of his career in the opener and the 27^th multi-hit game overall in his career.

· BC, which is 16-for-16 bases on the season, stole eight bases in game one.

· Frelick became the first Eagle to steal three bases in a game since Dante Baldelli vs. Quinnipiac (4/11/18).

· Gill matched his career-long outing with seven innings pitched; having previously done so vs. Villanova (2/25/17) in Norman, Okla.

· Morissette recorded the first two multi-hit games of his career with two hits and game one and three in the nightcap.

· Jack Cunningham drove in two runs in each game to push his career total for multi-RBI games to eight.

UP NEXT

Freshman right-hander Mason Pelio (San Diego, Calif.) makes his collegiate debut Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in the finale against Jackson State.

Game 1

Boston College 11, Jackson State 2 (Feb 16, 2019, at Jackson, Miss.)

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Boston College…… 010 610 300 – 11 10 1 (2-0)

Jackson State……. 000 000 020 – 2 5 3 (0-2)

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Pitchers: Boston College – Matt Gill; Ryan Smith(8); Joe Mancini(9) and Peter Burns; Gian Martellini. Jackson State – N. Galatas; F. Urena(4); K. Luke(5); Washington(7) and M. Luiz; S. Nastari.

Win-Matt Gill(1-0) Loss-N. Galatas(0-1) T-2:43 A-164

Weather: Cloudy, 47, N 4 MPH

F. Urena faced 2 batters in the 5th.

Game 2

Boston College 9, Jackson State 5 (Feb 16, 2019, at Jackson, Miss.) (Game 2)

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Boston College…… 101 510 100 – 9 14 2 (3-0)

Jackson State……. 000 203 000 – 5 7 3 (0-3)

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Pitchers: Boston College – Zach Stromberg; Thomas Lane(4); Sean Hughes(6); John Witkowski(6); Joey Walsh(7) and Peter Burns. Jackson State – M. Lopez; B. Valentin(5) and J. Williams.

Win-Thomas Lane(1-0) Loss-M. Lopez(0-1) T-2:55 A-0

Weather: Cloudy, 48, NE 4 MPH

M. Lopez faced 2 batters in the 5th.