Boston College baseball led 4–0 heading into the third inning of its matchup against Harvard—a lead that made it seem as though the Eagles could pick up their fifth straight win with ease.
But the Eagles’ reliance on Harvard’s errors as a means of creating offense in the first few innings caught up to them and the Crimson fought its way back, making it a 10–9 game heading into the seventh inning.
“Just when we felt like we were gonna run away with it, they would make a play on defense and make a pitch, and then come back in and score,” BC head coach Todd Interdonato said.
BC (16–11, 5–7 Atlantic Coast) fought through Harvard’s (4–17, 2–4 Ivy League) resurgence, however, and picked up a 17–9 win in Cambridge, Mass., on Tuesday afternoon to advance to the 2024 Baseball Beanpot final against Northeastern, a rematch of the Eagles’ loss to the Huskies earlier this season.
“[I’m] proud of the fact that we were able to continue to score and eventually put it away,” Interdonato said.
BC went into the bottom of the sixth inning with a 10–4 lead after compiling five runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but Harvard clawed back into contention.
With Gavin Hasche on the pitching mound, Dominic Brancel ripped a home run over the left field wall in a two-RBI shot. Harvard’s four hits to start the inning prompted Interdonato to replace Hasche with Charlie Coon.
In a critical moment, Coon toed the rubber with a full count and stared down Chris Snopek. The bases were loaded, and the Eagles needed one more out to hold onto their 10–6 lead and end the inning.
But Coon was unable to deliver the strikeout pitch, and instead, Snopek caused chaos for the Eagles.
Snopek ripped the ball into left field and over Owen Deshazo’s head, scoring three runs. Five runs on five hits in the inning cut the Crimson’s deficit to a shell of its former self and brought BC’s lead to one.
BC managed to escape the inning without allowing Harvard to tie things up.
“It’s 10–6, kid hits a double, it’s 10–9, and then we’re able to get off the field without allowing them to tie it,” Interdonato said. “Then just our offense coming back and immediately scoring … put us back in control of that game.”
In the top of the seventh inning, BC responded with the small-ball style that Interdonato has stressed all season. Sam McNulty bunted a single, scoring Vince Cimini and Adam Magpoc after a throwing error, extending BC’s lead to three.
“We felt like the bunts were gonna be a good play today,” Interdonato said. “We felt like we might have some success with that, and then our guys able to execute it and chip away some runs was really good.”
Jordan Fisse backed up the Eagles’ offensive performance, allowing just one hit and no runs in the bottom of the frame.
Then, the Eagles completed a five-run eighth inning, beginning with two hit by pitches and a walk that loaded the bases and set them up for their 17–9 win.
Cameron Leary tallied five walks and two stolen bases in the affair.
“He just has really good plate discipline,” Interdonato said. “Today I think he walked five times and did not strike out, which is maybe the craziest walk-to-strikeout ratio game I’ve ever seen by an individual.”
Leary’s steadiness at the plate led him to score the Eagles’ first run of the day when Magpoc walked—one of four walks the Crimson allowed in the first inning alone. Despite the Eagles posting an error-riddled third inning themselves, their dominant seventh, eighth, and ninth innings allowed them to pick up a win and advance to the Beanpot final for the third year in a row.
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