Eagles' Sheehan sharp over seven innings in win over No. 15 North Carolina
Sheehan struck out eight and held the Tar Heels to one run over seven innings in a comfortable 10-3 victory.
It’s easy to look at Boston College righthander Emmet Sheehan as an established arm in the Eagles’ rotation. After all, Sheehan’s in his third year on campus and firmly locked into the Saturday role on the weekend.
What many forget, though, is that he made just five career starts before this season. The lack of starts can explain some of the ups and downs, like giving up eight earned runs against Auburn and making a pair of costly mistakes—both home runs—against Louisville.
On Saturday afternoon against No. 15 North Carolina, though, Sheehan made his 10th career start and shut down the Tar Heels. Showcasing a premium pitch mix and an ability to work out of jams, Sheehan struck out eight and allowed just one earned run over seven innings in a dominant 10-3 victory.
The No. 21 Eagles (11-6, 3-5 Atlantic Coast) built an early 3-0 lead through three innings, then turned a close game into a blowout with a seven-run seventh inning against the Tar Heels’ (11-6, 7-4) bullpen. Behind three hits and three RBIs from both Brian Dempsey and Jack Cunningham, BC evened the weekend series and snapped a four-game conference losing streak in the process.
Through five starts, Sheehan is now 3-2 with a 5.33 ERA. His fielder-independent pitching (FIP) is a full point lower, at 4.29, and he’s allowed just one run to 10 strikeouts in his last nine innings. It was clear against the Tar Heels how fired up he was coming off of the mound after innings and he had a long leash from head coach Mike Gambino to work out of trouble.
Somebody reached base against Sheehan in each inning he pitched, but he was only burned once on an RBI double from Clemente Inclan in the fifth. Other than that, Sheehan found ways to get out of jams, whether it was a pop-up, double play, or strikeout. In his final inning of work, still protecting a slim lead, the Tar Heels had two runners on and the go-ahead run at the plate. Sheehan was facing Justice Thompson, the Tar Heels top hitter, and he struck him out in a massive spot to end the frame.
It was a much-needed start from the junior as the Eagles needed to bounce back after a 9-3 loss on Friday. BC made some costly mistakes in that defeat and in Gambino’s words, made it difficult for ace Mason Pelio to go deep into the game. On Saturday, the Eagles built an early lead for Sheehan and then broke it open late.
In the first inning against UNC starter Max Carlson, Dempsey singled and Sal Frelick hit a sharp groundball up the middle that he turned into a double thanks to aggressive baserunning. Dempsey scored on Luke Gold’s sacrifice fly, then Frelick beat a throw to the plate on a groundball to first base. Unlike Friday, BC was the one with the early lead, and it slowly built on it. In the third inning, Gold took the first pitch he saw from Carlson and crushed it to left field for a solo home run, his team-leading seventh of the year.
Carlson settled in, however, and pitched into the fifth inning. He was replaced by Caleb Cozart, who promptly set down the first five batters he faced. Everything fell apart for the visiting Tar Heels in the seventh, though. The Eagles sent 12 batters to the plate, scored seven runs, and saw three different UNC pitchers.
Cozart gave up a RBI double to Dempsey, then intentionally walked Gold to put two on with one out. He gave way to Davis Palermo, who gave up a two-run single to Jack Cunningham and walked consecutive batters to load the bases. Dante Baldelli chased the Tar Heels righthander by hitting a two-run single that skipped over the first baseman’s head and pushed the lead to seven. Kyle Mott came in for UNC and was almost out of the inning after a strikeout, but Dempsey came up for the second time in the fame and knocked a two-run single to left-center.
It was a huge inning, blowing the game open, and it let Gambino turn to Brad Lombardi out of the bullpen. The freshman, making his second career outing, quickly ran into trouble and had a costly throwing error to put runners on the corners. Pinch hitter Eric Grintz had a RBI single for the Tar Heels and a wild pitch chased Lombardi. Tenured reliever Joey Walsh emerged from the bullpen and gave up a run-scoring groundout, but bounced back to set down the side in order in the ninth with a pair of strikeouts.
UP NEXT: The Eagles now have a chance to take the weekend series this afternoon at 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra. BC is opting for an opener in the form of lefthander Joe Vetrano, while UNC has a traditional rotation and will send out Max Alba (19 IP, 3.84 FIP).