On a 1-0 count in the bottom of the eighth inning, Boston College baseball designated hitter Luke Gold waited at the plate. With five runs batted in, a double, triple, and a home run, he stood just a single shy of the ever-elusive cycle. Unfortunately for Gold, he hit a double, driving in his sixth run of the ballgame and guiding BC (19-22, 8-19 Atlantic Coast) to an 11-6 victory and series victory over Miami (24-15, 15-14).
Center fielder Sal Frelick, who is now ranked the No. 8 prospect in the upcoming 2021 MLB Draft according to MLB.com, rocketed a triple to left-center field to leadoff the home half of the first inning for the Eagles. He later came around to score on a single up the middle by second baseman Cody Morissette, giving BC a 1-0 lead after one inning.
In its next trip to the plate, BC did slightly more damage. After three straight singles by third baseman Vince Cimini, right fielder Dante Baldelli, and catcher Parker Landwehr, left fielder Cameron Leary nearly crushed a grand slam but instead had to settle for an RBI sacrifice fly caught on the left-field warning track.
Frelick was then walked intentionally to reload the bases for Boston College, and shortstop Brian Dempsey laced a single through the 5-6 hole to score Baldelli. Morissette flew out to center field to drive in Landwehr, but Gold came up next and blooped a double to right field that scored both Frelick and Dempsey. Jack Cunningham came up next and topped off BC’s offensive inning, knocking in Gold and giving BC a 7-0 lead after two innings.
“I trust those guys to do a great job hitting situationally, and they did,” BC head coach Mike Gambino said. “I have a ton of trust in this lineup.”
BC’s shutout did not last long, however, as Miami catcher Carlos Perez pulled a hanging curveball from BC pitcher Alex Stiegler over the left-field wall to lead off the third inning and put the Hurricanes on the board. After a walk and two singles to load the bases, third baseman Yohandy Morales singled to right field, driving in two more runs. Miami’s inning was not over, as designated hitter Raymond Gil then doubled in two more for the Hurricanes, cutting the BC lead to 7-5.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Gold struck back with a towering two-run home run—his first since March 20—to drive in Dempsey and push the lead back to 9-5.
Perez tripled for Miami to lead off the sixth inning, before coming into score on a groundout to first.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Gold tripled to center field, bringing home Morissette with his fifth run batted in of the day, giving Boston College a 10-6 lead.
Stiegler pitched six innings before being relieved by Charlie Coon. His performance was marred by a difficult five-run third inning, but was overall good enough to put the Eagles in position to win the ballgame. He finished with four strikeouts and four walks while allowing 10 hits and throwing 106 pitches.
This marks BC’s first ACC series win since Duke on Feb. 28, as the team looks for more as it makes a push toward the ACC Tournament.
“What we are most concerned with right now is going completely one game at a time, collecting as many wins as possible,” Gambino said. “Just play hard and have fun for one game, and then move on to the next one. That’s how you build momentum. We play like this, and we are going to the conference tournament. And if we get to the conference tournament, we all believe we have a chance to win that thing.”
Featured Image Courtesy of BC Athletics
