After a 12–5 victory over No. 10 North Carolina State on Saturday, Boston College baseball had an opportunity to win back-to-back ACC series, this time over an even higher nationally-ranked opponent.
Off the heels of the Eagles’ (11–8, 3–3 Atlantic Coast) victory to even the series, though, the Wolfpack (16–4, 2–1) responded with five unanswered runs, including a 3-spot in the fifth inning, to clinch the series victory.
The Eagles were able to get a runner in scoring position early, after an infield throwing error and wild pitch advanced Ty Mainolfi to second base.
Heath Andrews, the Wolfpack’s starting pitcher, got out of the early threat by forcing a second strikeout and a one-pitch groundout to close the opening frame.
After a couple of scoreless innings, Mainolfi reached base for a second time with a two-out base hit that powered through the right side of the infield. A Wolfpack throwing error on a Nick Wang grounder took an odd ricochet towards first base’s foul territory, scoring Mainolfi in the process and giving the Eagles a 1–0 advantage.
In the next half inning, the Wolfpack looked poised to get on the board with Rett Johnson getting on after a base hit with only one out. BC’s shortstop Julio Solier had different ideas, though, making an athletic double play to close out the third inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Wolfpack used a leadoff hit by pitch and a full-count walk to get two baserunners on with no outs. After two failed bunt attempts, Dalton Bargo hit a deep sacrifice fly to Colin Larson, putting runners on the corners.
One batter later, Chris McHugh hit a sacrifice fly himself that allowed Luke Nixon to flash his speed on the way home, leveling the score at 1–1 after four innings.
Over the course of the early innings, the winner-takes-all game looked poised for a pitching battle, with the Eagles’ Brady Miller and NC State’s Andrews trading impressive innings.
A half inning later, though, the Wolfpack converted two walks and a perfect bunt down the third base line from Rett Johnson, putting three ducks on the pond with no outs.
After a second pitching change, Mikey Ryan cashed in on the bases-loaded opportunity with a two-strike double to the left field wall, providing the Wolfpack a 3–1 cushion.
The Wolfpack tacked on one more run in the inning, thanks to an RBI single from Brayden Fraasmen, extending the lead to three.
During the top of the seventh, the Eagles notched a couple of two-out baserunners, but a fielder’s choice out from Ryan kept the score at 4–1.
Heath Andrews, the Wolfpack’s starting pitcher, posted a strong performance for his side, going seven innings deep and allowing zero earned runs, while using off-speed pitches late in at-bats to strike out four Eagles in the process.
In their last ups, the Wolfpack were able to piece together another run after a McHugh double, a Ty Head walk, and an RBI single from Drew Lanphere. After extending their lead to four, the Wolfpack unsuccessfully ran a first and third steal, as Solier threw out Head at home, limiting any further damage.
In their last opportunity to score, the Eagles proved unsuccessful as Wolfpack pitcher Cooper Consiglio forced two groundouts and a strikeout, clinching the Wolfpack’s first ACC series victory of the season.
Although the Eagles totaled eight hits as a squad, runners left on base plagued their chances to put more runs on the board. With runners on, the Eagles posted zero hits in 13 at-bats, contributing to the scoring-opportunity struggles.