Boston College Baseball: BC Hosts Merrimack Wednesday Afternoon

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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Boston College baseball plays its fifth straight home game when it welcomes Merrimack on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The match-up marks the first-ever between the two Massachusetts schools as the Warriors moved to Division I in 2020. The game will be streamed on ACCNX with Eric Gallanty and Josh Maurer on the call from the Harrington Athletics Village.

About the Eagles…
Boston College is 11-7 overall and 3-6 in the ACC. The Eagles fell out of the top-25 after a 2-2 week, but are still receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and NCBWA Top-30. Junior center fielder Sal Frelick leads BC with a .397 average and 22 runs scored with a .705 slugging percentage, including seven doubles and five home runs. Sophomore third baseman Luke Gold homered in three straight games and leads the team with eight while slugging .822 with a .370 average. Graduate first baseman Jack Cunningham moved into the clean-up spot and is hitting .349 overall and a league-best .545 (18-for-33) in ACC games. On the mound, graduate lefty Joey Walsh has been a team-leading nine appearances. He is 1-1 with three saves, a 3.15 earned run average, and 25 strikeouts in 20 innings.

Pure Power is Pure Gold…
In just 18 games, Luke Gold has hit eight home runs; leading a BC lineup that has gone deep 2 times; already besting season totals from 2018 (14), 2017 (15), and 2016 (20). Gold is just the third BC hitter with six or more home runs in a season since 2015; Chris Shaw (11, 2015) and Jack Cunningham (9, 2019). Gold posted a three-home run weekend at Auburn and homered in three straight games vs. Holy Cross and UNC. He became the first Eagles since Mickey Wiswall (2010 vs. Clemson).

Frelick Keeps it 100…
Sal Frelick needed three hits in the final game of the weekend vs. UNC (3/21) to pass teammate Cody Morissette for the fastest to 100 in program history. In his 72nd career game, Frelick went 3-for-5 to best Morissette by a game. A year earlier, Morissette became the fastest to 100; passing former first-round pick Tony Sanchez (81 games). Sanchez still holds the record for most hits (119) in 100 career games; set in 2008. Morissette sits at 113 hits in 85 games.

All-Time Minutes Played Leader?…
The nation’s active sacrifice bunt leader, Brian Dempsey at 34 is also 24th among all players nationally with 11 sacrifice-flies. His 189 games played rank 29th, 197 hits rank 30th and 663 at-bats rank 41st.