Boston College Baseball Midweek Recap - UMass Lowell

The Boston College baseball team got back on the winning side of things this week, when they defeated the UMass Lowell River Hawks 9-4 on Tuesday evening at LeLacheur Park.

With the scored tied at 1-1 in the fifth, the Eagles scored five times to push their lead to 6-1 heading into the home half of the inning. However, UMass Lowell made it interesting in that half, as the River Hawks closed the gap to two runs by plating three runs in the bottom of the fifth, chasing BC Starter Jack Nelson from the game. The visiting team answered right back with three-spot of their own in the sixth, pushing the score to 9-4. The combination of Zach Stromberg, Sean Hughes, and John Witkowski held UMass Lowell scoreless the rest of the way, en route to the 9-4 victory.

Jake Palomaki had himself a day at the plate going 2 for 5 with four RBI, tying a career-high for the senior. Joe Suozzi and Jack Cunningham also tallied a pair of hits in the game, both going 2 for 4, while driving in three combined runs.

Some Thoughts:

In my opinion, there’s not a lot to say about this game other than it’s great to be back in the win column. In all honesty, this was the type of outcome I think most people would expect from a midweek game between an ACC program and a program from a smaller conference. That’s not to say that smaller conference schools aren’t any good. To the contrary, some are very successful and are in contention for NCAA berths year in and year out, but this is how BC needs to perform in the midweek every time they play. Sure, the game was tied heading into the fifth, but BC put up a five-spot in that inning and then another three in the following frame to take control of the game. That needs to happen not just when they play UMass Lowell, but also when they play the likes of Harvard, Northeastern, UConn, Bryant, etc. Granted, Bryant and UConn have good teams this season, but as mentioned above, as an ACC program, Boston College needs to beat them regularly to regain control over the northeast, which is why I am bummed today’s game against the Bulldogs was cancelled due to rain. Though a win wouldn’t have done anything to help their postseason hopes, it would have been a giant step in the right direction in the region. Now, the Eagles’ focus turns to Notre Dame and former BC head coach Mik Aoki this weekend in South Bend.