Eagles Walk Off to Win Third Straight Series

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BRIGHTON, Mass. – The No. 17 Boston College baseball team walked off an 8-7 winner in the 10^th in game two of its doubleheader against No. 24 North Carolina State on Sunday at the Harrington Athletics Village. The Eagles fell in the first game of the day, 12-2, but ultimately claimed the series and improved upon their program-best start at 17-5 overall and 6-3 in the ACC.

BC secured the win with a one-out, bases-loaded sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of junior right fielder Travis Honeyman (Massapequa, Mass.).

The Eagles trailed the Wolfpack 7-2 in the sixth inning of game two and cut the deficit to one with a four-run bottom of the sixth, capped by a two-run home run from sophomore third baseman Nick Wang (Newton, Mass.). BC turned to sophomore right-hander Julian Tonghini (New Canaan, Conn.) beginning in the seventh and he retired all 12 batters faced to finish the game.

Wang went deep again in the eighth to tie the game, 7-7. Tonghini (1-0) dominated on the mound as he was perfect with five strikeouts to get the win.

Junior left fielder Cameron Leary (Bethpage, N.Y.) went 4-for-4 at the plate with a walk.

Lefty Dominic Fritton held BC to two runs, one earned, in a 4.1-inning start for NC State (17-7, 3-6 ACC). RHP Baker Nelson (4-2) took the loss in two-thirds of an inning pitched with one run against on a hit and two walks.

Despite a two-run home run to start the scoring in game one from junior first baseman Joe Vetrano (Shrub Oak, N.Y.), the Eagles fell to the Wolfpack 12-2 in a run-rule-shortened, eight-inning game. NC State used a five-run sixth to take the lead and added six runs in the eighth.

RHP Matt Willadsen (3-2) got the win in six innings of two-run ball, both runs unearned, on five hits and two walks. Graduate RHP Chris Flynn (Naugatuck, Conn.) pitched 5.1 innings for BC. Flynn (5-1) took his first loss of the season with four runs on nine hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Designated hitter Canon Peebles hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth that stood as the game-winner for the Wolfpack.

DETAILS
Scores: No. 17 Boston College 2-8, No. 24 North Carolina State 12-7
Records: Boston College 17-5, 6-3 ACC; North Carolina State 17-7, 3-6 ACC
Stadium: Harrington Athletics Village
Attendance: 1,072

BC GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
·       Honeyman made a diving catch on the warning track in the top of the third and threw out the runner returning to first for an inning-ending double play.
·       Vetrano started the scoring with a two-out, two-run home run to left-center in the third.
·       Down 7-2 in the sixth, Burns delivered a two-run single to left and Wang drilled a two-run home run to make it a one-run game.

BC GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
·       Roche singled, advanced on a passed ball, and scored on a Leary single in the fourth to cut the deficit to two.
·       With runners at the corners in the fifth, Vetrano drove in Walsh, who doubled, to trim the NC State lead in half.
·       Trailing 7-2 in the sixth, BC cut the deficit to one with a two-run single from Burns and a two-run home run from Wang.
·       Wang then tied the game in the eighth with a solo home run.
·       The Eagles loaded the bases with one away on two walks and an infield single. Honeyman picked up the game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly to right.

GAME NOTES
·       The series win marked the third consecutive series win for BC, the first such streak since the Eagles won four ACC series in a row in 2016; their last NCAA Tournament appearance.
·       The series win was the first over NC State since sweeping the Wolfpack in 2017.
·       The game two win was the first extra-inning win for BC at the Harrington Athletics Village, which opened in 2018, and fourth walk-off in the stadium’s history; the second this week.
·       Leary recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the season and 24^th of his career.
·       Leary matched a career-high with his second four-hit game.
·       Leary hit his third double of the season and 15^th of his career.
·       Vetrano hit his seventh home run of the season and 20^th of his career.
·       Vetrano posted his sixth multi-hit game of the season and 25^th of his career.
·       Walsh stole his fifth base of the season and 14^th of his career.
·       Walsh hit his third double of the season and 12^th of his career.
·       Wang hit his second and third home runs of the season and became the first Eagle with two home runs in a game since Vetrano at Tennessee (3/7).