Boston College Baseball: Weekend Finale Decided in the Ninth

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BRIGHTON, Mass. – The weekend finale came down to the ninth inning between No. 21 Boston College baseball and No. 14 North Carolina and it was the Tar Heels who came out on top in a 5-4 win at the Harrington Athletics Village. The win gave the series to UNC (12-6, 8-4 ACC), while the Eagles dropped to 11-7 and 3-6.

Graduate lefty Joey Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) entered for BC in the top of the ninth in a 4-4 game and walked the leadoff hitter Justice Thompson. Shortstop Danny Serretti delivered Thompson to the plate with the game-winning run on a triple to right-center. Walsh battled back to strike out a pair and leave the potential insurance run at third.

Boston College rallied in the ninth and got the tying run to third. Sophomore third baseman Luke Gold (Ballston, N.Y.) hit a one-out double to left, advanced on a ground out and was left stranded to end the game. The Eagles managed to leave five runners on base over the last five innings and made two outs on the bases, including a runner at the plate to end the seventh.

The game went back-and-forth with BC striking first for a run in the bottom of the first as junior center fielder Sal Frelick (Lexington, Mass.) doubled and scored on a two-out single from graduate first baseman Jack Cunningham (South Riding, Va.). After the Tar Heels knotted the game in the second, Frelick put the Eagles back in front with a leadoff-home run to right in the third.

UNC took its first lead of the game with a three-run fourth inning. BC answered in the fifth with two runs on three hits as Cunningham drove in a run with a base hit and sophomore second baseman Vince Cimini (Scranton, Pa.) picked up a game-tying sacrifice-fly to make it 4-4.

Walsh (1-1) took the loss in one inning of work. Lefty Caden O’Brien (1-0) got the win in 2.2 innings of relief; scattering three hits and a walk.

DETAILS
Score: No. 14 North Carolina 5, No. 21 Boston College 4
Records: North Carolina 12-6, 8-4 ACC; Boston College 11-7, 3-6 ACC
Location: Harrington Athletics Village
Attendance: 0

BC Highlights

Frelick doubled in the first and scored on a two-out single by Cunningham.
In the third, Frelick put BC back in front with a leadoff-home run to right.
Stiegler walked the first two batters of the fifth and stranded both in scoring position with two strikeouts.
Dempsey and Frelick singled to set the table in the fifth. Dempsey scored on a Cunningham single and Frelick on a Cimini sacrifice-fly to tie the game, 4-4.
Stiegler got an inning-ending, strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play in the sixth.

Game Notes

BC is 6-3 when scoring in the first inning and 7-3 when scoring first.
Frelick hit his third double of the weekend, seventh of the season and 17^th of his career.
Frelick hit his fifth home run of the season and 11^th of his career.
Frelick notched his 10^th multi-hit game of the season and 31^st of his career.
Frelick’s third hit of the game was the 100^th of his career; coming in his 72^nd game. He passed teammate Cody Morissette (73 games) for the fastest to 100 in a career.