Eagles bullpen falters in 6-5 loss to No. 23 Virginia Tech
Reliever Max Gieg gave up three runs in the ninth, including a walk-off two-run single to Kevin Madden.
For much of the season, Boston College has established itself as team that come back from any deficit. That may still be true but on Sunday, its bullpen made clear that quite often, other teams aren’t out of the game either.
After No. 23 Virginia Tech spotted the Eagles a 5-0 lead and looked hopeless at the plate against BC starter Emmet Sheehan, the Hokies chased him in the seventh with a pair of runs and roared back with three runs in the ninth for an emotionally-charged 6-5 victory to even the weekend series. It was the Eagles’ (13-12, 4-10 Atlantic Coast) fourth loss when tied or leading after six innings and a frustrating setback after Thursday’s win.
Max Gieg took the ball in the ninth with a slim two-run lead and loaded the bases with just one out. Virginia Tech’s (14-9, 10-7) TJ Rumfield lofted a sacrifice fly into left to bring in the inning’s first run. Gieg was a strike away from ending the game but instead walked Tanner Thomas to load the bases, bringing up Kevin Madden. Madden, who already had two hits on the day, laced a two-run single past the outstretched dive of second baseman Cody Morissette. The Hokies poured out of the dugout and Madden sprinted into the outfield before he was eventually mobbed by his teammates as the Eagles trudged off the field.
Madden’s heroics sets the stage for a rubber match this afternoon. The third baseman went 3-for-5 with three RBIs to pace the Hokies, while freshman reliever Griffin Green kept the comeback effort alive with two-plus innings of scoreless relief as his teammates clawed their way back into it.
The loss squandered a dominant effort from Sheehan, who pitched into the seventh and set a career high in strikeouts. The junior hit the first batter he faced, but then set down the next eight batters he faced before giving up his first hit in the third. He struck out the first two batters in the third, the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth. Sheehan was consistently getting Virginia Tech to chase high fastballs and just had overpowering stuff. The junior got into the habit of strutting around the back of the mound after each strikeout as it was clear he was in control of the game.
He got the first out in the seventh on yet another strikeout, but an error on shortstop Brian Dempsey put a runner on and things unraveled. He gave up three straight hits to Carson Jones, Dayne Leonard, and Lucas Donlon to score two and chase him in the process after 105 pitches. Reliever Charlie Coon stranded runners on the corners, though, keeping it a three-run game.
Coon gave up a RBI single to Madden in the eighth, however, bringing the Hokies one step closer. That set the stage for Gieg’s struggles in the ninth as the bullpen gave up four runs in total over two innings of work.
Much like Thursday, BC jumped on Virginia Tech starter Anthony Simonelli. A three-base error on a misjudged fly ball in the opening frame allowed Sal Frelick to reach third as the second batter of the game, and Morissette brought him home with a single. In the second, Peter Burns clubbed a two-run home run to right, his second on the weekend after hitting just one in the previous 19 games.
The Eagles pushed the lead to four in the fourth against Simonelli on a Dante Baldelli fielder’s choice. Baldelli brought in another run in the sixth against reliever Noah Johnson, stretching the lead to 5-0. With the way Sheehan was pitching, a BC win seemed likely, but things fell apart late.
It was an especially frustrating loss for the Eagles as many of their weekend losses have been defined by digging too big of holes early. Sheehan, for instance, gave up eight and five runs respectively in setbacks against Auburn and Louisville. Mason Pelio gave up six to Duke, five to Louisville, and six to Clemson. This loss, however, was the product of not being able to hang on to an early lead or add much insurance against the Hokies bullpen late.
For the second game in a row, the lineup was paced by the bottom half. Morissette went 2-for-4 and drove in a run, but the other four RBIs came from the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters in Burns and Baldelli. Frelick and Brian Dempsey finished a combined 0-for-10 out of the top two spots, while Luke Gold was hitless. The Eagles struck out 11 times, and Green’s effective relief outing draws comparisons to Ryan Okuda’s ruthless efficiency out of the bullpen on Thursday.
Featured Image Courtesy of Virginia Tech Athletics