BC Baseball: 12th Annual ALS Awareness Game Kicks Off Series Against No. 14 UVA

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ALS CHAMPION: PETE FRATES

Pete Frates ’07 captained the Eagles his senior season and returned to the team as director of operations in 2012 following a diagnosis of ALS at the age of 27. A driving force behind the worldwide “Ice Bucket Challenge” in 2014, Frates helped raise over $220 million dollars toward research for a cure. In the summer of 2019, it was announced that BC’s new indoor baseball/softball facility would be named in his honor. Frates ultimately passed after a seven-year battle with ALS on December 9, 2019. In 2016, Frates’ No. 3 was retired at BC’s old Shea Field, and in 2017 he was awarded the NCAA Inspiration of the Year honor. The bucket from his own Ice Bucket Challenge at Fenway Park resides in Cooperstown along with his BC hat and glove from his playing days with the Eagles.

HISTORY OF THE ALS GAME

BC played its first ALS Awareness Game in 2012 shortly after Pete Frates was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 27. The 2017 and 2018 games were played at Fenway Park. BC defeated NC State, 8-3, in 2017 and fell to Florida State, 13-7, in front of an ALS game-record crowd of 5,433 in 2018. After two years back at Harrington, the game returned to Fenway Park in 2022 and 2023 and will go to America’s Most Beloved Ballpark for a third year in a row this April. The Eagles won the most recent ALS Game, 8-4 against Notre Dame in 2023.

JOHN WEST TO BE HONORED ALONGSIDE PETE

John West (Shrewsbury, Mass.), whose father passed away in 2014 after his own fight with ALS, started the 2023 ALS Game and turned in arguably his best pitching performance in a BC uniform, earning the win after going seven innings, striking out four and allowing four hits on just 75 pitches. In the 2024 installment, West will be honored this year for not only his impact as a player but his impact as a member of his community as well. In February, West was named the captain of the inaugural Lou Gehrig Community Impact team, as announced by Phi Delta Theta and the Live Like Lou Foundation. To further Lou Gehrig’s legacy and his storied baseball career, Phi Delta Theta, in partnership with the Live Like Lou Foundation, announced the inaugural Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team to annually recognize the giving character and community impact of collegiate baseball players. West was named Captain after garnering the highest number of committee votes, and as Captain of the Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team, John will be recognized during the ’24 ALS Awareness Game and will collaborate with Phi Delta Theta and the Live Like Lou Foundation to support a family affected by ALS in the local community

Gameday Info

Match-Up: Boston College (20-19, 7-14 ACC) vs. No. 14 Virginia (31-11, 12-9 ACC)

Ballparks: Fenway Park • Boston, Mass.

Harrington Athletics Village • Brighton, Mass.

Live Stats: bc.statbroadcast.com

Weekend Pitching Match-Ups

Thursday, 7:00 p.m: LHP-A.J. Colarusso (3-5, 7.28) vs. LHP-Evan Blanco (3-1, 3.86)

ACC Network (https://es.pn/4aRePx6)

Friday, 3:00 p.m: RHP-John West (1-2, 5.34) vs. LHP Owen Coady (1-0, 3.28)

ACCNX (https://bit.ly/3xRFWJS)

Saturday, 1:00 p.m: TBD vs. RHP-Joe Savino (0-1, 2.25)

ACCNX (https://bit.ly/3UfwcQZ)