Eagles snap five-game skid, beat FSU 5-3
After being held to three runs in the first two games, BC put up five and leaned on strong pitching from Alex Stiegler and Joey Walsh to outlast the Seminoles.
It had all the makings of another tough ending to a game for the Eagles. Florida State, trailing by two in the bottom of the ninth, had a pair of runners on with one out and Matheu Nelson—he of eight RBIs on the weekend—was at the plate representing the winning run.
Instead, the script was flipped. Reliever Joey Walsh got a pair of flyouts and the Eagles claimed a much-needed 5-3 victory, leading from the fifth inning on as they snapped a five-game losing streak on a rain-soaked Sunday afternoon.
After a two-and-a-half hour rain delay postponed the start of the game to 3:30 p.m., the teams again had to retreat to the dugouts after the fifth inning for another 53-minute rain delay. When they emerged again, BC (15-18, 5-16 Atlantic Coast) held a slim 3-2 lead, and they’d fend off a late comeback from the Seminoles (18-14, 13-11) behind Walsh, who threw 4 1/3 innings of one-run relief.
MOMENT’S THAT MATTERED:
Timely hitting: Unlike the first two games of the series, the Eagles were able to come up with hits when they needed them the most. It started early against Florida State right-hander Conor Grady, as Dante Baldelli lined a triple to leadoff the third inning and came in to score on a fielding error. Then, Peter Burns moved over two bases on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a fielder’s choice, giving BC an early lead.
When Florida State tied the game up in the fourth, the Eagles kept up the good at bats and quickly retook the lead for good in the fifth. Sal Frelick kickstarted a two-out rally with a double down the first-base line, then beat a throw to the plate on Brian Dempsey’s clutch single to shallow right field.
They tacked on two more runs in the final innings, with Baldelli coming up with a sacrifice fly and Lucas Stalman—who had registered his first hit of the year on Friday—clubbing the first pitch he saw from reliever Davis Hare over the right field fence for a solo home run. After being held to just three runs in the first two games combined, it was good to see the Eagles break through on multiple occasions against a tough Seminoles’ pitching staff.
Stiegler’s start: After pitching into the eighth against North Carolina State, Alex Stiegler returned to the mound and turned in 4 2/3 innings of two-run ball. Stiegler wasn’t always at his best, issuing an uncharacteristic three walks, but still held the Seminoles in check save for one mistake. That came in the fourth inning, when Robby Martin got ahold of a 2-0 pitch and crushed it to the scoreboard in left for a two-run, game-tying home run.
Stiegler had faced one over the minimum through three prior to that inning, but his control started to slip as the game went on. He got a big double play in the fourth after issuing another walk, but then walked the first two batters in the fifth. A wild pitch put both in scoring position, but Stiegler got two quick outs before turning it over to Walsh to escape the jam. Ultimately, Stiegler was charged with two runs on three hits, three walks, and four strikeouts. It wasn’t as dominant as the start against the Wolfpack, but he’s continued to be a strong Sunday starter for the Eagles.
Walsh’s escape act: It wasn’t always pretty, but Walsh got the job done in a 71-pitch outing on Sunday. The tenured reliever gave up just one run on one hit while walking six and striking out four. There was plenty of traffic on the basepaths during his four-plus innings of work, making it far from a relaxing end to the game for the Eagles, but he was able to bear down and get the job done.
He first escaped trouble in relief of Stiegler, inheriting a bases-loaded situation (BC intentionally walked Nelson) and getting Martin to ground out to first. Walsh waited out the 53-minute delay, then worked a 1-2-3 sixth. His command deserted him briefly in the seventh, as he walked the bases loaded with one out, but was able to hold the Seminoles to just one run on a single after getting a flyout and a huge strikeout.
Walsh fittingly saved the most drama for last, working a 1-2-3 eighth before walking back-to-back batters with one out in the ninth. He got Nelson to fly out harmlessly to center field, though, and Martin took the first pitch he saw and lofted it to left field to end the game. It was a high-wire act from Walsh as he left eight runners on base during his relief stint, but it paid off.
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