In the top of the first inning of Boston College baseball’s contest against Georgia Tech, Patrick Roche stepped up to the plate with what appeared to be a cool demeanor. As Carson Ballard dealt his first pitch, Roche patiently watched the ball sail off the plate for ball one.
The second pitch flew in from Ballard’s right hand and ended up elevated directly over the center of home plate, where it met the bat of Roche.
Roche followed the pitch all the way in toward his bat, and obliterated a solo home run over the center field wall. The lead off blast put the Eagles in front 1–0 and set the tone for an offensive showcase.
Despite holding the worst earned run average in the conference heading into Thursday’s matchup, BC (13–11, 3–7 Atlantic Coast) put together an strong pitching performance on top of stellar hitting—leading to a 10–3 series opener victory against Georgia Tech (16–8, 3–4) in Russ Chandler Stadium Thursday night.
Four batters after Roche’s home run, BC’s second baseman Vince Cimini hit an RBI single to right field, allowing Cameron Leary to score from second. The run gave BC a two-run cushion at the end of the first inning.
The offensive success continued in the second inning where number nine hitter Sam McNulty provided an RBI groundout, and Roche followed with his second RBI of the night with a single to extend BC’s lead to 4–0.
Two innings later, Kyle Wolff crushed a two-run home run, opening the game wide open. BC batters remained composed at the plate, worked the counts into their favor, and seemingly took advantage of nearly every opportunity they had to score.
While the Eagles continued firing on offense, starting pitcher Michael Farinelli held down the fort defensively, allowing no runs, two hits, and registering four strikeouts through four innings of work. Even when the Yellow Jackets threatened to score by loading the bases in the fourth inning, Farinelli forced a fielder’s choice to end the inning unscathed. In total, Georgia Tech left 12 men on base throughout the game while batting .154 with runners in scoring position.
BC entered the 5th inning with a 6–0 advantage, and it quickly added to it. Cam Caraher and Adam Magpoc singled with one out in the inning, and McNulty and Roche, once again, came up with the clutch hits, driving both runs to make it 8–0.
Despite the deficit, Georgia Tech continued to fight. Mike Becchetti scored off a wild pitch from Evan Moore to put the Yellow Jackets on the board in the fifth, and Cam Jones hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut BC’s lead to 8–2. However, the six run hole was too much for Georgia Tech to handle.
Eagles pitchers Aidan Crowley and Eric Schroeder held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for the seventh and eighth innings.
BC applied the icing to the cake by tacking on another two runs in the top of the ninth inning, reaching 10 runs in the game. The Eagles hit .429 against Georgia Tech pitching, while the Yellow Jackets only hit .270.
Georgia Tech tallied a few of those hits while mustering up one final run in the ninth inning, but BC came away with the victory, 10–3.
The offensive power along with the pitching showcased in the contest is the combination that BC has struggled to find early in the season. The victory marks the Eagles second straight and, potentially a turning point in their season.
