Justin Dunn

Pelio, Eagles Take Down No. 20 Clemson

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Freshman pitcher strikes out eight in 3-2 win

BRIGHTON, Mass. – The Boston College baseball team defeated No. 20 Clemson, 3-2, in front of 535 fans at the Harrington Athletics Village on Sunday afternoon. The win moved the Eagles to 12-11 overall and 3-6 in the ACC, while the Tigers fell to 18-6 and 6-3.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Mason Pelio (San Diego, Calif.) went 6.2 innings in the start for BC. He limited Clemson to one unearned run with a bases-loaded double play and a strikeout in the first to get around a leadoff-error. Pelio (3-1) was in control for the remainder of his outing as he stranded seven base runners through six innings. He left with two down in the seventh as he allowed just the one unearned run for the game on four hits and five walks with a career-high eight strikeouts.

The Eagles matched the Tigers’ run in the first as senior third baseman Jake Alu(Hamilton, N.J.) hit a leadoff single and scored from third on a groundout to short by junior shortstop Brian Dempsey (Potomac, Md.). Following Pelio’s only clean frame, senior catcher Gian Martellini (Johnston, R.I.) blasted a leadoff home run to center to give Boston College a 2-1 lead in the second.

In the eighth, BC tacked on an insurance run that would hold up as the game-winner. With runners on the corners, Alu dragged a perfect bunt-single up the first base line to squeeze freshman right fielder Lucas Stalman (Bedford Hills, N.Y.) home from third.

Clemson rallied in the top of the eighth for a run on one hit but left the bases loaded. Redshirt-sophomore lefty Joey Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) entered to face All-American shortstop Logan Davidson and induced a pop out in foul territory to stymie the threat. Walsh stayed on to pitch the ninth and sat the Tigers down in order to earn his second save of the season.

For the game, BC outhit Clemson, 10-5, and did not strike out at the plate. Alu went 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI out of the leadoff spot and sophomore left fielder Chris Galland (Sudbury, Mass.) finished 2-for-3 in the nine-hole.

DETAILS
Score: Boston College 3, Clemson 2
Records: Boston College (12-11, 3-6), Clemson (18-6, 6-3)
Location: Harrington Athletics Village (Brighton, Mass.)
Attendance: 535

QUOTEABLES
Mike Gambino, Head Coach:
“Mason was awesome, there is such a confidence when Mason is on the mound because of his stuff because of his poise… he doesn’t look like a freshman.”

“I love how the boys reacted [and] how they played. We did the little things offensively, got bunts down when we needed to, made the plays…we played clean baseball.”

BC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Pelio struck out two in a perfect second inning of work.
  • Martellini led off the bottom of the second with a home run to center field to give the Eagles’ their first lead of the series.
  • Pelio fanned his fifth strikeout victim of the day to strand runners on the corners in the fourth.
  • Two on, one out and Pelio came back to strike out the next two in the fifth.
  • Sean Hughes inherited runners on the corners and closed out the seventh by going upstairs with a strikeout to close the book on Pelio.
  • With runners on the corners, Alu dragged a bunt up the first base line to score Stalman from third and won the foot race to the bag for a single.

GAME NOTES

  • Martellini hit his first home run of the season and 12th of his career.
  • BC and Clemson each challenged calls on the field in the bottom of the fifth inning and won. The Eagles were kept off the board having left runners on the corners.
  • Pelio struck out a season-high eight batters having previously struck out six at Eastern Kentucky (3/2).
  • Pelio made his third start of six-plus innings this season; the most by a BC pitcher this season.
  • Chris Galland recorded his sixth multi-hit game of the season and 23rd of his career.
  • Alu added his seventh multi-hit game of the season and 32nd of his career.
  • BC pitchers combined to keep the Tigers 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position, including 0-for-3 with the bases loaded.
  • BC batters did not strike out at the plate for the first time as a team since facing Dartmouth (4/8/14).
  • Boston College is 2-4 against ranked opponents this season.

UP NEXT
The Eagles are in action on Wednesday, March 27 at former Big East foe Connecticut.

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