Eagles' late-inning woes continue in 5-4 loss to Wolfpack

For the sixth time in conference play, BC lost a lead of at least three runs and fell to N.C. State to drop the weekend series and fall below .500 on the year.

The Wolfpack used a four-run seventh to erase an early deficit and beat the Eagles, 5-4, in a series-clinching matchup on Saturday afternoon.

After N.C. State (13-11, 7-10 Atlantic Coast) chased BC (14-15, 4-13) starter Emmet Sheehan with one out and two on, Eagles’ reliever Joey Walsh entered with a 4-2 lead and immediately surrendered a RBI double to Tyler McDonough. A ground ball from Luca Tresh pushed the Wolfpack ahead thanks to a costly throwing error from BC third baseman Luke Gold on an awkward play.

The Eagles, suddenly trailing for the first time after jumping out to a 4-1 lead through four innings, were held scoreless over the next three frames to drop their fifth straight conference series. It was yet another frustrating loss for BC as three of its last four conference losses have been decided by a single run and featured a bullpen struggling to protect leads.

“I should have done a better job managing that part of the game,” head coach Mike Gambino said after about the seventh, before describing what he told his team. “We have to do a better job of cleaning up some of these small things to be able to flip these one-run decisions.”

“It doesn’t always come down to one at bat, there’s things throughout the game. We need to do a better job of that, and that’s on me.”

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Sheehan largely dominant: For much of Saturday’s game, Sheehan was working effectively in the zone and utilizing a high fastball and plus offspeed to keep a Wolfpack lineup that had scored 20 runs the game before at bay. Through the first six innings, he only made one mistake, leaving a hanging curveball up that N.C. State’s Devon Brown crushed for a solo home run.

Other than that, Sheehan worked efficiently through a dangerous lineup. He set down five of the first six batters he faced with three strikeouts, worked around the home run in the third, and stranded two in the fourth. He set down the side in order in the fifth, then worked around a two-out, four-pitch walk in the sixth. Sheehan trotted out for the seventh and got a pop-up to start the frame, but was pulled after giving up a walk and back-to-back singles to bring across a Wolfpack run.

“He’s earned the right the try to get that one more inning and get himself out of a little bit of a jam,” Gambino said about the four batters Sheehan faced in the seventh. “He’s earned my trust. I love the fact that he didn’t want to come out of the game when I came out to get him.”

Wolfpack take advantage in seventh: Once Sheehan exited with a 4-2 lead and runners on the corners, Walsh couldn’t escape the jam. Needing a double play ball, he instead threw a hittable fastball to McDonough, who punished it off the wall for a RBI double.

With two in scoring position and a 2-2 count on Tresh, Walsh gave up a check-swing chopped ball to Gold at third. The sophomore third baseman fielded it as one run was across, then airmailed a throw to Vince Cimini at first. Another came across, breaking a tie and handing the Wolfpack a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Gambino was frustrated with himself for pitching to Tresh with first base open after the game.

“I will take the blame on this one,” the 11th-year head coach said. “It’s an awkward move in that part of the game to walk the winning run on base, but I should have walked Tresh and attacked Butler and Torres.”

Instead, the pitch called for was a back-foot slider that was left up just enough for Tresh to check his swing and put it in play, creating mayhem.

“[When] you’re trying to get him to chase, something like that comes into play,” Gambino added. “I should have done a better job managing that part of the game.”

Highfill settles in: For the second game in a row, N.C. State leaned heavily on its starting pitcher. Freshman Sam Highfill pitched into the eighth and allowed four runs on seven hits, one walk, and three strikeouts. After Reid Johnston threw 110 pitches in Friday’s win, Highfill turned in a 98-pitch outing in which he only improved as the game went on.

Highfill gave up an RBI single to Gold in the first, then two more came across in the third on a fielder’s choice groundout from Brian Dempsey and an RBI double from Cody Morissette. Then, in the fourth, Eagles’ backstop Peter Burns added to his conference RBI total with a single up the middle to bring in another run. The lead was three for the Eagles and Highfill seemed destined to finish his outing soon, but he reached back to get the final out of the fourth and went on to toss three more frames.

In the next three innings, Highfill set down all nine batters he faced, starting from the top of the BC lineup. He came out after hitting Dempsey to lead off the eighth inning and was relieved by Evan Justice, but it was an excellent performance after a sloppy start.

“Highfill settled in and got that changeup going,” Gambino said. “He started locating his fastball better and started throwing the ball great. We were putting good swings on balls. The kid just settled in and threw the ball great.”

Eagles rally falls short: After Dempsey was hit by a pitch to put a runner on, Justice came in and got Sal Frelick to ground into a 6-3 double play by Wolfpack shortstop Jose Torres. It was a strong play from the middle infielder, as he reached his foot out to tap second and still got enough on his throw to beat the speedy Frelick. That killed any hopes of a rally in the eighth, setting the stage for BC’s final frame.

In the ninth, Gold lead off with double into the right-center gap. He was pinch-run for by Dante Baldelli, who’d been held out of the game to that point after a hard collision with the fence in right field in Friday’s loss. Jack Cunningham grounded out to third, though, and Vince Cimini followed with a groundout to the first baseman. Baldelli moved within 90 feet of tying the game, but pinch-hitter Ramon Jimenez struck out swinging to end the game.

Images Courtesy of BC Athletics