Following a dismal weekend against Georgia Tech, the Boston College baseball team rebounded with a pair of wins against Northeastern and Connecticut on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Strong offensive performances from Eric Campbell and Barry Butera keyed the victories.
On Tuesday, the Eagles rode the wave of three home runs for an 8-7 victory against Northeastern. Campbell led the way, going two-for-four with a run. The junior third baseman scored during a four-run fourth inning against the Huskies. Trailing 3-0, catcher Tony Sanchez hit a solo home run to left field to put the Eagles on the board. Following a single by Campbell, designated hitter Mickey Wiswall launched a shot over the left field wall to tie the score at 3-3. Later in the inning, left fielder Sam Shaughnessy hit a solo home run to give BC a 4-3 lead.
Although starting pitcher Kevin Moran allowed five earned runs in just 4.1 innings, the Eagles' offense continually fought back. Center fielder Mike Sudol, who was making his first start of the season in Tuesday's game, went two-for-three with a run and an RBI in the effort. Relief pitcher Pat Dean pitched 1.2 innings and picked up the win. Dean (2-1) struck out three Huskies, while giving up just one hit.
A day later the Eagles completed the midweek sweep with a 10-4 trouncing of Connecticut. Freshman John Leonard made a strong pitching performance for the Eagles, and picked up his second career win (2-0). Leonard threw seven innings, allowing just four Huskies' runs.
While the pitching was strong, the Eagles' bats once again had a solid day at the plate. Leadoff hitter Barry Butera paced BC with four RBIs, and went two-for-four on the day. The second baseman hit a three-run home run in a six-run fourth inning. Trailing 4-1, Campbell led off the fourth with a single, followed by a Shaughnessy walk. Shortstop Garret Smith then reached on an error, scoring Campbell, and cutting the deficit to 4-2. Following a single by Wiswall and a walk by Sudol, Butera hit a three-run shot to right field to give the Eagles a 7-4 lead.
In the seventh inning, BC added three runs to push the lead to 10-4. Chris Kowalski and Nick Asselin then came out of the bullpen and pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game for BC.
With the two wins, the Eagles improved their record to 13-14 on the season. The team will look to move over .500 this weekend when it hosts against ACC rival Duke.
2008 Woodie Awards
