Long Ball Lifts BC Over Fairfield as Offense Erupts for Three Home Runs

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Three first-inning home runs led the way for the Boston College baseball team in a 19-6 win over Fairfield at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles snapped a five-game slide and improved to 4-5, while the Stags remained winless at 0-4. The long ball was in effect.

Sophomore right fielder Sal Frelick (Lexington, Mass.) set the tone with a home run to right to lead off the game. Each of the first five BC batters reached base and the scoring continued with a three-run home run to straightaway center by senior left fielder Joe Suozzi (Glen Cove, N.Y.) and concluded with a two-run homer to right by sophomore catcher Peter Burns (Reading, Mass.).

The Eagles added a single run in the second and third to lead 8-0 entering the fourth. Fairfield then cut the BC lead in half with a four-spot in the fourth. The Stags got the first six to reach against sophomore right-hander Joe Mancini (Fairfield, Conn.), beginning with a pop-up single that landed untouched in front of home plate. With four runs in, two on and nobody out, Mancini buckled down and retired the next three in order.

Mancini (1-1) returned to pitch the fifth inning and earn his first win of the season. He was charged with four runs, all earned, on six hits and three walks with a career-high seven strikeouts.

Boston College got back all four runs, and more, with five scored in the top of the sixth. Senior shortstop Brian Dempsey (Potomac, Md.) lead of with an infield single to third. Two runs followed and the inning was capped off with a bases-loaded triple by senior center fielder Dante Baldelli (Cumberland, R.I.).

Right-hander Trey McLoughlin (0-1) went three innings in the start for the Stags. He allowed eight runs on 11 hits and no walks with two strikeouts. Third baseman Charlie Pagliarini delivered a three-run double in a 1-for-3 game.

Suozzi finished the game 2-for-3 with four RBI and three runs. Sophomore third baseman Cody Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) was 3-for-4 with three runs, leading the way for six Eagles with multi-hit games.

DETAILS

Score: Boston College 19, Fairfield 6

Records: Boston College 4-5, Fairfield 0-4

Location: World War Memorial Stadium (Greensboro, N.C.)

Attendance: 102

BC HIGHLIGHTS

· Frelick led off the game with a home run down the right-field line.

· Suozzi (three-run) and Burns (two-run) followed with home runs of their own in the first.

· Dempsey was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on a Suozzi single in the second.

· Burns added a RBI-double in the third and Baldelli singled to give all nine Eagles a hit just twice through the order.

· With two runs in, Baldelli made the sixth a five-run frame for BC with a three-run triple to right-center.

GAME NOTES

· Fairfield leads the all-time series vs. BC, 6-4, having last met in 1982.

· BC homered for a season-high three times; the most since a four-home run game vs. Clemson (5/21) at the 2019 ACC Championship.

· BC scored 15 or more runs for the first time since scoring 19 against Maine (5/14/19).

· BC registered 20 or more hits for the first time since at Duke (4/15/17).

· Baldelli hit his first triple of the season and fourth of his career.

· Baldelli tallied his second multi-hit game of the season and 22^nd of his career.

· Burns hit his first career home run to snap a 0-14 slump.

· Burns picked up his first multi-hit game of the season and seventh of his career.

· Dempsey logged his sixth multi-hit game of the season and 45^th of his career.

· Frelick’s leadoff-home run in the first was his second long-ball of the season and sixth of his career.

· Frelick became the first Eagle to hit a leadoff home run in the first inning since Donovan Casey at Northeastern (4/5/17).

· Frelick’s hit streak climbed to a career-best nine games and reached base streak reached 17.

· Morissette recorded his third multi-hit game of the season and the 25^th of his career.

· Samrath Singh made his collegiate debut 359 days after Tommy John surgery to become the first Sikh player on record in Division I baseball history.

· Ryan Smith struck out a career-high three batters in a career-high two innings.

· Suozzi hit his first home run of the season and fifth of his career.

· Suozzi extended his career-best hit streak to 13 games and reached base streak to 17.

· Suozzi collected his fifth multi-hit game of the season and 20^th of his career.

UP NEXT

The Eagles and Stags have a Sunday re-match set or 1 p.m. Sophomore right-hander Emmet Sheehan (Darien, Conn.) gets the ball for BC.

Boston College 19, Fairfield 6 (Feb 29, 2020, at Greensboro, N.C.)
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Boston College…… 611 005 240 – 19 22 1 (4-5)
Fairfield……….. 000 400 020 – 6 9 1 (0-4)
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Pitchers: Boston College – Mancini, Joe; Marzonie, Michael(6); Smith, Ryan(7); Singh, Samrath(9) and Burns, Peter; Landwehr, Parker. Fairfield – McLoughlin, Trey; Arnold, Josh(4); Amone, Tristan(6); Cafaro, Bryson(7); Fitzgerald, Billy(8) and Caruso, Mike; Esposito, Nick.
Win-Mancini, Joe(1-1) Loss-McLoughlin, Trey(0-1) T-3:46 A-102
HR BC – Frelick, Sal (2); Suozzi, Joe (1); Burns, Peter (1).
Weather: 42, Mostly Sunny, NW 15 MPH
Arnold faced 3 batters in the 6th.
Cafaro faced 4 batters in the 8th.