Boston College Baseball Hosts Miami for Weekend Slate

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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — The Boston College baseball team wraps up its eight-game homestand against Miami this weekend at the Harrington Athletics Village. The series will be streamed on ACCNX beginning Friday, April 30 at 7 p.m.

About the Eagles…
BC is 17-21 overall and 6-18 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 .350 batting average and 39 runs scored. Graduate shortstop Brian Dempsey has 14 hits in the last eight games while batting second, to move his average to .291. Sophomore second baseman Luke Gold has slugged a team-high eight home runs with a .313 batting average and returned to the lineup last Saturday after missing five games. BC has hit 31 home runs this season, eight since the calendar flipped to April; a stretch of 15 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 until junior second baseman Cody Morissette hit his fourth of the year last Friday. Junior right-handed pitcher Emmet Sheehan moved into the Friday night role last week and earned his fourth win. He is 4-3 with a 4.30 earned run average and 11.97 strikeouts per nine innings. Nine of Sheehan’s 10 starts have gone six or more innings, including seven in a row.

Weekend Pitching Match-Ups (Brighton, Mass. • Harrington Athletics Village)
Friday, 5:30 p.m. (ACCNX): RHP-Emmet Sheehan (4-3, 4.30) vs. RHP-Alejandro Rosario (4-3, 5.65)
Saturday, 3 p.m. (ACCNX): RHP-Mason Pelio (3-4, 6.66) vs. RHP-Alex McFarlane (1-0, 3.50)
Sunday, Noon (ACCNX): TBD vs. RHP-Jake Garland (5-1, 3.94)

Scouting the Hurricanes…
Miami dropped out of the polls this week after a series loss to North Carolina. The Hurricanes are 23-13 overall and 14-12 in the ACC. Center fielder Carlos Del Castillo leads the team with a .368 average. Catcher Adrian Del Castillo is batting .311 with 11 doubles and 28 runs. Right-hander Alejandro Rosario owns a 4-3 record and 5.65 ERA in the Friday night role. Lefty Carson Palmquist has nailed down nine save in 15 appearances with a 1.27 ERA and .116 batting average against.

Last Time They Met…
BC was swept in an abbreviated two-game series to end the 2018 season in Coral Gables. Game one was a pitcher’s duel between BC’s Jacob Stevens and Miami’s Jeb Bargfeldt, who pitched a complete-game shutout in a 3-0 decision. Stevens struck out nine in seven innings with two runs against in his final game as an Eagle. Pitchers ruled the day again in game two with the Hurricanes holding on for a 4-3 win. Dan Metzdorf went 7.2 innings for BC, while Evan McKendry struck out 11 in 6.2 innings to get the win. The Saturday finale was rained out with BC leading 4-3 in the bottom of the third until the game was called after a two-hour, 14-minute rain delay.

Strikeout Numbers…
BC pitchers have combined to strike out 336 batters for a 9.04 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 218 batters and averaged 9.36 K/9, which ranks seventh. Junior RHP Emmet Sheehan’s 68 strikeouts against league opponents are third-most in ACC play. As a team, Boston College pitchers have combined to strike out 10 or more batters in 15 games this season, including a season-high 15 at Virginia Tech (4/2).

Welcome to the 100-100 Club…
Brian Dempsey scored the 100th run of his career vs. Notre Dame (4/23) to become the 12th player on record in program history to record 100 career runs scored and runs batted in. Jack Cunningham sits at 99 runs and 104 RBI, while Dempsey is at 103 and 102. The last Eagle to reach 100 in each category was Anthony Melchionda (2009-12). With 222 career hits, Dempsey is just the eighth player in program history with 100 runs, 100 RBI, and 200 hits; also achieved by Melchionda.

Rounding out the Rotation…
After using an opener pitcher on Sundays through five weeks, Boston College has established a weekend rotation of right-handers Emmet Sheehan, Mason Pelio, and Alex Stiegler. Fellow RHP Joe Mancini took over the midweek role in late March. BC starters have gone six-plus nine times with a 4.22 ERA and .241 BAA over the last 16 games. Mancini made a spot start at FSU with Pelio unavailable.