Hot Starts From Cunningham, Suozzi Bolster Already Dangerous Lineup

"You're seeing mature at bats." Plus notes on (too many) walks, slumps, and hopes for steps forward

Entering 2020, the biggest names for Boston College offensively were the likely 1-2-3 hitters in Sal Frelick, Brian Dempsey, and Cody Morissette. Frelick had a dynamic freshman season cut short by injury and was back for more, Dempsey was gearing up for his fourth year in the starting lineup, and Morissette was an All-ACC Second Team selection as a true freshman.

Seven games into the year, though, not only have those three produced—they’re hitting .370, .357, and .333 respectively—but the two players that follow them in the lineup have managed to pile up more hits.

First baseman Jack Cunningham and left fielder Joe Suozzi are both hitting a cool .462 in 31 plate appearances apiece, taking big steps forward in 2020 and creating an matchup nightmare for opposing pitchers. Right now, not only do opposing starting pitchers have to dance around a pair of reigning All-ACC Second Team selections and a career .296 hitter, they also have to gear up for a 4-5 combination in the lineup that has 24 hits between the two of them in just two weeks of action.

“I think you’re seeing mature at bats,” head coach Mike Gambino said. “These are hitters who’ve had at bats and have worked really hard and continued to develop.”

Cunningham, a senior, has yet to homer after setting a career-high with nine in 2019, but has been able to drop hits in left and right. His .632 batting average on balls in play is absurd, but if you watched any of the series against Arizona State—where he went 6-for-13—you saw a hitter that was taking what pitchers were giving him and driving it out of the infield.

Suozzi, meanwhile, has been an impressive story of player development. He earned 20 starts in the outfield as a freshman, hitting .250, then returned in 2019 and raised his average 30-plus points while starting 48 games. So far this season (albeit in a small sample size) Suozzi has shown improved plate discipline—he struck out 26 percent of the time last season compared to a nine percent walk rate—as he has four walks (13 percent) to just six strikeouts (19 percent).

Still, even with the top six hitters—including freshman designated hitter Luke Gold—boasting a combined .373 batting average (59-for-158), Gambino thinks there’s more to come.

“I don’t think those top six are really clicking yet,” he said. “[But] I think this is a really good lineup and will continue to be a good lineup.”

Here’s a few assorted notes on the Arizona State series and the team.

Walks, Walks, Walks

Against the Sun Devils—who came in at No. 12 in the latest edition of the D1Baseball.com Top 25—BC was in each of the three games. While they each ended in defeat by a margin of four-plus runs, the Eagles were within striking distance. In the first, an eventual 10-4 setback, they trailed by three entering the seventh. In the second, they led 2-1 going into the bottom of the sixth. In the series finale, they trailed by a lone run through five innings. The biggest focus for Gambino after the trio of losses was execution, particularly on the mound. BC walked 25 batters in 24 innings of work and is now averaging 8.28 walks per nine innings, good for 290th of 294 teams on the NCAA.com leaderboard.

“I thought we had chances to win each of the games,” he said. “The story of the weekend was too many walks. If we walk an average number of people, then there’s probably three ‘flip a coin’ games, who knows what happens.”

Against a lineup as dangerous as the Sun Devils, any free bases are costly. In the second game, ASU put up seven runs in three innings and pulled away in no small part due to five walks. Then on Sunday, starter Emmet Sheehan walked five batters in the first inning—three scored—and BC had to dig out of an early deficit. By the time they did, the Sun Devils quickly retook the lead for good after a leadoff walk came around to score on a sacrifice bunt and a two-base error.

“If we just don’t walk guys and execute a little bit better, across the board, we’re there,” Gambino added. “I think it’s a good barometer right now of where we are now and what we need to do to compete against national-championship caliber teams.”

Sheehan’s Next Step

A week after making it just 2 2/3 innings against Northern Illinois, Emmet Sheehan couldn’t make it out of the first inning against Arizona State. The sophomore issued five walks and allowed a two-run single in quick succession and was quickly lifted. It was a frustrating third career start for the freshman, but he’ll have a chance to get back on track on Sunday when the Eagles face Fairfield. Gambino is expecting big things from the sophomore, who has a potent pitch arsenal but just needs to learn to control it.

“We’re looking for him to grow and mature mentally on the mound—it’s not an ability thing,” Gambino said. “If you’d seen him in the bullpen [before ASU], you would have said this kid is going to be a first round pick.”

“You forget that these guys are kids,” he added. “He had one start as a freshman and this was his second and third starts of his college career. He’s got to make the next step, and when he does, we’re going to have a really good ACC starter.”

Sheehan’s career-long appearance was three innings last May against Notre Dame, but with four games in four days, BC needs more out of him this time around to avoid overtaxing the bullpen. The Stags are winless through three games and have managed just three runs and 13 hits so far.

Walsh, Whenever

Redshirt junior Joey Walsh came in for Sheehan in that Sunday loss and turned in a stellar long relief effort, escaping a bases loaded jam with a flyout and going on to throw 4 1/3 innings and allow two runs, one earned. He closed out his afternoon by stranding two runners with a strikeout, keeping it a one-run game. Walsh has made a start and two relief appearances thus far and figures to continue to factor as a two-way pitcher.

“Joey Walsh is awesome,” Gambino said. “He feels comfortable in the bullpen. He’s a competitor and likes the pressure and he’s huge for us.”

Walsh was a reliever almost all of 2019, making 24 appearances out of the bullpen alongside five starts. That kind of role seems likely again in 2020 and the early results have been promising. In his start against Northern Illinois, he went five innings—tied for the longest start by a BC starting pitcher so far—and worked around five walks while giving up five runs, four earned, on four hits. He’s grappled with command, walking 10 in 11 1/3, but has had some unfortunate defensive miscues behind him to prolong innings and has resulted in nine runs allowed, six earned.

Slumping to Start

Gambino has kept his lineup pretty much unchanged through the first seven games of the season, and there’s good reason for it when you consider the first six hittters. After that, though, it hasn’t been a banner first two weeks for the bottom three in the lineup.

Lucas Stalman (five starts) and Vince Cimini (two starts) have split time in the lineup, followed by catcher Peter Burns and center fielder Dante Baldelli. Those four are a combined 7-for-64 (.109) and have struck out 26 times, a nearly 41 percent strikeout rate. Gambino admitted the bottom three were largely “pressing” after slow starts, but came away impressed with Baldelli’s at bats against ASU.

“[Dante] scorched some balls at people this weekend,” Gambino said. “A couple of times he had some really good at bats and came away with nothing to show for it. You’re seeing that from him.”

Baldelli has been trying to string together hits the last few years, so any sign of improvement is promising. The senior is a career .204 hitter who has started 40-plus games each of the last two seasons. He saw his average and on-base percentage dip in 2019, resulting in a corresponding drop in stolen bases—he can’t harness his impressive speed and base-stealing ability if he’s not on base—but he is still a valuable defensive outfielder.

Images Courtesy of Boston College Athletic Communications