Eagles end four-game skid with 7-3 win over No. 13/23 Virginia Tech
BC struck for six runs in the first three innings and Mason Pelio pitched into the seventh in the series-opening win.
Boston College got three things they needed on Thursday afternoon.
The Eagles chased an opposing starter early to put up runs, got a season-long start from Mason Pelio, and ended a four-game losing streak with a 7-3 victory over No. 13/23 Virginia Tech.
Pelio, who had lost three straight starts, went six-plus innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out five and gave up a pair of home runs. It was a welcome sight for BC (13-11, 4-9 Atlantic Coast) as Pelio got through the first two innings unscathed for the first time since his start against Auburn and went on go a full inning longer than any prior appearance this year.
Meanwhile, Hokies’ (13-9, 9-7) left-hander Peyton Alford wrestled with his control and swirling winds in his shortest start of the young season. Alford gave up six runs on four hits and a career-high six walks and was the ill benefactor of some bad luck. He struck out five to run his season total to 47 in 28 2/3 innings, but he threw 70 pitches and was chased with two on and nobody out in the third.
BC right fielder Dante Baldelli went 3-for-4 and reached base four times out of the nine hole, while all but one member of the Eagles’ lineup registered a hit. They were largely held in check after striking for six runs in the first three innings, though, as Virginia Tech reliever Ryan Okuda spun six-plus frames of one-run ball and struck out nine. Okuda’s dominance kept the game from spiraling out of the Hokies reach, but the Eagles’ duo of Pelio and Joey Walsh combined to close out a comfortable win.
Eagles’ shortstop Brian Dempsey singlehandedly scored the game’s first run. He drew a walk, moved to second on a balk, and then swiped third. The throw down skipped by and into left field, allowing him to score.
After BC left them loaded against Alford in the first—three of 12 left on base on the day—it bounced back with two outs in the second. Dempsey and Sal Frelick drew walks to put two on, then Cody Morissette blooped a wind-aided double into left field that landed between fielders to score a run. Luke Gold followed with a similar hit to shallow right field to plate two more.
The Eagles chased Alford in the third after a walk and a single, and Baldelli had a RBI single and Dempsey laid down a safety squeeze to bring two more across against Okuda.
Trailing 6-0, Virginia Tech got a run back against Pelio in the third on a Jack Hurley solo home run. BC catcher Peter Burns answered with one of his own in the fifth, the first of two hits on the day for the junior. Burns also impressed behind the plate, throwing out two would-be base stealers and saved a run from scoring on an impressive snag on a pitch that got away from Pelio.
The Hokies tacked on two more against Pelio in the form of a Carson Jones sacrifice fly in the fourth and a solo home run from Kevin Madden in the sixth, but that was all for an offense that scored eight runs in each of their last two games. Okuda and reliever Peter Sakelleris combined for four straight scoreless frames to close out the Eagles, but Walsh relieved Pelio and stranded five over two-plus innings to secure the victory.
While the season-high 14 strikeouts at the plate was concerning for BC, who has now fanned double-digit times in three of its last five games, it was still a good offensive showing. The Eagles were patient against Alford and got early hits when they needed too and that run support seemed to rub off on Pelio. The junior right-hander wasn’t throwing overpowering stuff on a brisk afternoon in Blacksburg—his fastball was sitting in the low 90s—but he dialed it up on occasion and was efficient throughout.
While Walsh’s 51-pitch outing was less than ideal in terms of pitch count, he has come back to throw in the third game of a series twice after throwing that many pitches. With Emmet Sheehan lined up to start today and a rested bullpen, the Eagles are in good shape should Sheehan’s recent performances continue. A road series win is never easy, but BC’s relatively comfortable win today was a good first step and more important, a step away from the funk that the team has seemed to be in the last week-plus.
Featured Image Courtesy of BC Athletics