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The Boston College Eagles’ baseball team dropped two of three games against a talented Clemson Tigers team this past weekend. After losing the first two games on Friday and Saturday, BC salvaged a victory on Sunday to avoid the sweep.
The Eagles struggled to generate any offense in the 8-1 Friday loss. Clemson’s right-handed freshman pitcher Davis Sharpe had a phenomenal start, striking out six batters with only three hits and two walks allowed through seven scoreless innings. He improved to 3-1 on the season with the win.
Dan Metzdorf started for the Eagles and fell to 2-2 with the loss. He also struck out six, but gave up seven hits, seven runs and three walks through 7.1 innings pitched.
The story of the first game was the offensive depth of Clemson. Every single one of Clemson’s nine offensive starters recorded a hit.
BC nearly got on the board against Sharpe in the second inning after a leadoff double by Jake Alu and single from Jack Cunningham gave BC runners on the corners with no outs. Unfortunately, a double-play squandered a golden opportunity for the Eagles to add a few runs. Boston College was shut out until the ninth inning with Gian Martellini driving in a late run.
The Eagles fared far better on a windy Saturday afternoon, but still fell 9-5 to the Tigers. Through the first three innings, it looked like another blowout loss to Clemson was in the cards.
Clemson jumped out to a five-run lead with an impressive six extra-base hits in the opening three innings. Logan Davidson extended his hitting streak to eleven games as he drove in the opening run for the Tigers with a triple. The Clemson lead was 2-0 through one inning after another run scored on a sacrifice fly.
Clemson added another two runs in the second inning, headlined by an inside-the-park home run by Bryce Teodosio. It was his sixth homer of the season.
BC got two runs back in the fourth inning after Clemson scored again in the third. Alu drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Brian Dempsey scored on a wild play. The junior shortstop stole a base and managed to score after back-to-back throwing errors by Clemson.
Both sides traded two runs apiece in the sixth inning. Lucas Stalman, the freshman designated hitter, hit a two-run double for BC.
The Eagles rallied in the ninth inning and brought the game-tying run to the plate. Closer Carson Spiers escaped the bases-loaded jam by getting a game-ending flyout. It marked his seventh save of the season for Clemson.
Mat Clark (5-0) got the win for the Tigers, pitching 5.2 innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) and seven hits, striking out just one with no walks.
Matt Gil fell to 2-3 and lasted just 2.1 innings against the potent Clemson lineup. He did not walk any Tiger batters, but recorded no strikeouts and gave up five runs on eight hits.
The Eagles prevented a sweep with a 3-2 win on Sunday and broke a twelve-game losing streak to Clemson as well. Pitching was a strong suit for BC on Sunday afternoon. Five Eagles pitchers combined to shut Clemson hitters out (0-14) with runners in scoring position.
Freshman right-hander Mason Pelio continued a good start to the season with an impressive 6.2 inning start. He allowed just one unearned run in the first inning and escaped a bases-loaded jam. He gave up just four hits and fanned eight batters, but walked five batters as well. Clemson starter Keyshawn Askew fell to 2-1 with the loss. In five innings, he allowed two runs (one earned) along with seven hits.
Clemson jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but BC avoided the worst of the damage, as the Tigers had the bases loaded with no outs. BC answered Clemson’s run in the first inning as Alu scored on a groundout to shortstop by Dempsey, after reaching base with a lead-off single.
The Eagles took a 2-1 lead in the second inning off a straightaway home run by Martellini. The lead-off shot was his first of the season and twelfth of the senior catcher’s career. The Eagles scored an insurance run in the seventh that would seal the win. Alu pulled an perfect bunt single up the first base line that scored Stalman from third base.
Sunday’s win salvaged the weekend as BC managed to stay over .500. The Eagles stand at 12-11 after the three-game slate and 3-6 in the ACC. On the other hand, Clemson finds themselves at 18-6 overall and 6-3 in ACC play after the weekend series on Chestnut Hill.
BC will look to improve on the positive momentum from Sunday’s victory. Up next is a road test against Connecticut this Wednesday afternoon at 3:00.
Be sure to follow @BCGavelSports on Twitter for the latest updates on Boston College Athletics.
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