No. 13 BC blows lead in eighth-inning; fall to No. 10 Louisville
The Eagles led 4-0 and 6-4, but the Cardinals responded both times to secure an 8-6 win and sweep the weekend.
In the first two games against No. 10 Louisville, No. 13 Boston College’s bullpen kept the Eagles within striking distance—the duo of Joey Walsh and Charlie Coon combined for 5 2/3 innings and allowed just one earned run.
In Sunday’s series finale, looking to salvage a win, BC looked like it would continue that script. Max Gieg already had two scoreless innings under his belt when he was tasked with a two-run lead and a crucial victory was within sight.
Instead, the Cardinals chased him and struck for four runs in the bottom of the eighth, taking the lead with one final punch on the weekend that the Eagles couldn’t answer in a disheartening 8-6 defeat.
The third straight loss for BC (9-5, 2-4 Atlantic Coast) was arguably the toughest of the weekend. The Cardinals (11-4, 4-2) had pulled away in the first game and used a dominant pitching performance in the second, but this one was much more back-and-forth and the Eagles’ bats—with Jack Cunningham back in the lineup—had come alive.
The Eagles took a 4-0 lead in the first two innings against Louisville starter Luke Smith, snapping a 16-inning scoreless streak in the process. Brian Dempsey and Sal Frelick hit back-to-back singles to open the game and came around to score in the first on a sacrifice fly from Luke Gold and a single through the right side from Jack Cunningham. That was the start of a 3-for-4 day for Cunningham, who missed Saturday’s matchup due to a nagging knee injury.
In the second, with Smith still laboring, Vince Cimini led off with a single and moved to second on Dante Baldelli’s single. Dempsey dropped down a bunt to move them into scoring position, and BC capitalized on a costly throwing error from shortstop Christian Knapczyk that scored both. It was the third error on the weekend for Knapczyk, but as in the previous two games, he’d make up for it at the plate.
The Eagles’ pitching got off to a good start, with opener Joe Vetrano throwing two scoreless and working around two hits on 26 pitches. Alex Stiegler came on and gave up a two-out solo home run to Henry Davis in the third, but retired the next six batters he faced. With two outs in the fifth and a three-run lead, Stiegler was aiming to finish his second 1-2-3 inning in a row when things unraveled.
Cooper Bowman took an 0-1 pitch and doubled down the left field line, then came in to score on Luke Brown’s single up the middle. The next two batters swung at the first pitch they saw, with Davis lacing a single into right and Alex Binelas driving in both runs and tying the game with a double to left-center.
Meanwhile, Louisville’s bullpen was picking up where it left off. After Smith left following a third inning where he left the bases loaded, Garrett Schmeltz navigated similar troubles to turn in 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave way to Jack Perkins with two on and two out in the sixth and the sophomore right-hander got a huge strikeout of Gold to keep it tied.
Perkins would give up two in the seventh, though, as Cunningham singled (and was pinch-ran for by Chris Galland). Ramon Jimenez drew a walk and Cameron Leary laid down a sacrifice bunt. Up strode Vince Cimini, making his second start in place of an injured Cody Morissette, and he took the first pitch he saw and hit a two-run double down the right field line to break the tie.
Momentum in hand, Gieg—who relieved Stiegler in the sixth—held the Cardinals scoreless in the bottom of the seventh, his second scoreless frame in a row. He returned in the eighth and quickly ran into trouble, giving up a single and hitting a batter. He got a flyout but with one out, Levi Usher dropped a bunt down that Gieg fielded awkwardly and his ensuing throw sailed past first base. One run scored and two moved into scoring position, setting the table for a go-ahead two-run triple from Knapczyk. After another hit batsmen, Joey Walsh entered, and he couldn’t get to a beautifully-placed squeeze bunt from Brown that tacked on an insurance run.
All of a sudden, the Eagles’ were down to their final three at bats and Louisville turned to Kaleb Corbett—who’d closed out Saturday’s win. He issued a two-out walk to Cimini, but got pinch-hitter Travis Honeyman to strikeout on three pitches to end the game and secure the weekend sweep.
BC returns to action this week with a pair of non-conference games, facing Merrimack and Holy Cross. The Eagles remained a top-25 team after the sweep, dropping to No. 21 in Baseball America and No. 24 in D1Baseball. Louisville, meanwhile, climbed up to No. 8 in both polls.
Featured Image Courtesy of ACC Network Extra.