Boston College Baseball at No. 18 FSU This Weekend

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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — The Boston College baseball team returns to action for a three-game set at Florida State. The action gets underway from Dick Howser Stadium Friday at 6 p.m. The entire series will be streamed on ACCNX.

About the Eagles…
Boston College is 14-16 overall following a sweep at home to North Carolina State. The Eagles starting rotation has gone seven straight games with six-plus innings of work and over the last eight games owns a 4.20 earned run average and .249 batting average against. Junior right-hander Emmet Sheehan has pitched through the sixth in seven of eight starts this season. He is 3-2 with a 4.66 earned run average and 59 strikeouts in 46.1 innings of work. The BC lineup is powered by junior center fielder Sal Frelick with a .360 average, 1.014 OPS, and five home runs. Sophomore third baseman Luke Gold is hitting .325 with eight home runs and a .642 slugging percentage. Graduate shortstop Brian Dempsey has 208 hits, which is tied for third all-time at BC. He is 36 hits away from the program record. Dempsey also enters the weekend with 97 career runs scored and 98 career RBI.

Weekend Pitching Match-Ups (Tallahassee, Fla. • Dick Howser Stadium)
Friday, 6 p.m. (ACCNX): RHP-Joe Mancini (1-0, 9.16) vs. LHP-Parker Messick (2-2, 2.60)
Saturday, 2 p.m. (ACCNX): RHP-Emmet Sheehan (3-2, 4.66) vs. LHP-Bryce Hubbart (3-2, 4.68)
Sunday, 1 p.m. (ACCNX): RHP-Alex Stiegler (1-2, 5.54) vs. RHP-Conor Grady (4-1, 3.60)

Scouting the Seminoles…
No. 18 Florida State is 16-13 overall following a 3-2, 10-inning loss at Florida on Tuesday. The Seminoles lost a series at Louisville last weekend and are 11-10 in ACC games. Right fielder Robby Martin is FSU’s top hitter at /330 with six home runs and 32 RBI. Catcher Matheu Nelson has slugged 13 home runs with a .320/.438/.780 slash and 39 RBI. Lefty Parker Messick owns the Friday role for the Seminoles with a 2-2 record, 2.60 ERA, and 69 strikeouts in 45 innings. He has gone six-plus innings in four starts this season, including eight-shutout innings to beat Virginia (3/5).

Last Time They Met…
The Eagles claimed their first series win over the Seminoles in a decade with a 10-7 Friday win and 8-0 shutout in the Sunday rubber match. Freshman center fielder Sal Frelick broke open a scoreless game with a two-run home run in the seventh and freshman righty Mason Pelio pitched seven scoreless innings to clinch the series for BC over No. 19 Florida State. In the opener, Boston College jumped all over FSU starter Drew Parrish and established a 7-0 lead in the fourth inning. Dan Metzdorf pitched six innings to earn the win, while the top of the BC batting order; Brian Dempsey, Sal Frelick, and Jake Alu, combined to go 8-for-12.

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 124 hits in 96 games, while Frelick has 114 in 84 games.

All-Time Minutes Played Leader?…
The nation’s active sacrifice bunt leader, Brian Dempsey (35) is also 28th among all players nationally with 208 career hits. His 11 sacrifice-flies rank 32nd, 201 games played rank 26th and 713 at-bats rank 35th.

Around the Horn…
Sophomore Vince Cimini has started 18 consecutive games, including 17 at three infield positions. He has made nine starts at second base, six at third base, and most recently the last two games at first base against NC State. Cimini has also played shortstop in late-game scenarios and made one start at designated hitter.