Boston College: Birdball and No. 6 Irish Meet This Week in Boston

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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — The Boston College baseball team hosts No. 6 Notre Dame for a three-game series at the Harrington Athletics Village. The Eagles and the Fighting Irish open the weekend Friday at 5:30 p.m. with all three games streamed on ACCNX.

About the Eagles…
BC is 15-19 overall and 5-16 in the ACC. The Eagles have not won back-to-back games since their record reached a high-water mark of 9-2 on March 9. Junior center fielder Sal Frelick leads the BC lineup with a .355 batting average and 35 runs scored. Graduate shortstop Brian Dempsey has 10 hits in the last four games, while batting second, to move his average to .301. Sophomore second baseman Luke Gold has slugged a team-high eight home runs with a .325 batting average, but has missed four consecutive games. BC has hit 27 home runs this season, but only four since the calendar flipped to April; as stretch of 11 games. Dempsey hit a leadoff-home run against Clemson on March 26; the last time a BC batter in the top five spots of the lineup went deep. Junior right-handed pitcher Emmet Sheehan moves into the Friday night role after the Eagles’ shuffling of the rotation. He is 3-3 with a 4.82 earned run average and 11.69 strikeouts per nine innings. Eight of Sheehan’s nine starts have gone six or more innings, including six in a row.

Weekend Pitching Match-Ups (Brighton, Mass. • Harrington Athletics Village)
Friday, 5:30 p.m. (ACCNX): RHP-Emmet Sheehan (3-3, 4.82) vs. LHP-Will Mercer (1-0, 5.54)
Saturday, 3 p.m. (ACCNX): RHP-Mason Pelio (3-3, 6.96) vs. LHP-John Bertrand (3-1, 3.55)
Sunday, Noon (ACCNX): TBD

Scouting the Fighting Irish…
Notre Dame is 18-7 overall, 16-7 in the ACC, and peaks in the polls at No. 6 by Baseball America. The Fighting Irish lead the nation with a collective .988 fielding percentage. ND’s 3.70 team ERA is second in the ACC with RHP Tanner Kohlepp owning a 2.05 ERA and .173 batting average against in 30.2 innings across 13 relief appearances. First baseman Niko Kavadas has hammered 13 home runs and driven in 33 with a .329 batting average. Designated hitter Carter Putz leads the Irish lineup with a .360 average, while right fielder Ryan Cole is second at .355.

Last Time They Met…
The Eagles claimed the series against the Fighting Irish to close out the 2019 regular season and clinched a spot in the ACC Championship with a Thursday night win. Lefty Dan Metzdorf turned in 7.2 innings of one-run, three-hit ball. Jake Alu walked and scored in the first to ignite a two-run inning and finished the game with four runs, four RBI on two hits, including a two-run homer as Boston College won 10-1. In a game featuring three ties and five lead changes, the Eagles won game two, 9-8.

All-Time vs. Notre Dame…
The Irish hold a 31-16 lead in the all-time series, which started in 1996 when it joined the Big East. As conference opponents the first time around, Notre Dame won 19 of 24 contests. When the two schools reunited in the ACC for 2014, BC won the initial match-up; 4-1 in 11 innings at Chicago State.

Strikeout Numbers…
BC pitchers have combined to strike out 302 batters for a 9.10 K/9 average; the highest since 8.20 in 2015 and the highest in the Mike Gambino era (2011-present). In ACC games, the Eagles have struck out 193 batters and averaged 9.51 K/9, which ranks seventh. Junior RHP Emmet Sheehan’s 58 strikeouts against league opponents are tied for third-most in ACC play. As a team, Boston College pitchers have combined to strike out 10 or more batters in 14 games this season, including a season-high 15 at Virginia Tech (4/2).

The Race to 100-100…
Jack Cunningham and Brian Dempsey are racing to become the 12th and 13th players on record in program history to record 100 career runs scored and runs batted in. Cunningham sits at 94 runs and 102 RBI, while Dempsey is at 98 and 100. The last Eagle to reach 100 in each category was Anthony Melchionda (2009-12). With 214 career hits, Dempsey is on pace to become just the eighth player in program history with 100 runs, 100 RBI, and 200 hits.