BC Baseball Midweek Preview-Harvard and UMass

Following a tough weekend sweep at the hands of Clemson, the BC baseball team is looking to break a five game losing streak when they welcome two local opponents to Brighton campus this week. With a 9-16 record, the Eagles will have a good chance to gain some momentum before jumping back into ACC play over the weekend.

Game Location:

Brighton Stadium, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA*

Tuesday’s game was originally scheduled to be played at Harvard

Game Times:

Tuesday, April 3rd @ 3pm ET vs. Harvard (Beanpot Game 1)

Wednesday, April 4th @ 4pm ET vs. UMass

Probable Starters:

Tues: BC: TBA vs. Harvard: TBA

Wed: BC: TBA vs. UMass: TBA

How to Watch/Listen:

Both midweek contests will be covered on Gametracker, as well as broadcast online via WZBC Radio. Links to both options can be found on the Boston College baseball schedule page of BCEagles.com. It also looks like the Ivy Leage Network may have a broadcast of this game, though it is unknown if the location change will impact that in any way.

What to Know About the Harvard Crimson

Now in his fifth season as Harvard’s head coach, Bill Decker has his Crimson at 9-13 to start the season. With a record of just 73-131 in his time with Harvard, Decker hasn’t had the smoothest time since he took the job after a long and successful career as the coach of Trinity.

The Crimson have a different leader in every major offensive category but have just four players with an average of over .267. They have a bit of pop in their bats, with 16 home runs on the season and an on base percentage sitting right around .350. Harvard’s problem all season has been on the other side of the ball, where they have routinely struggled to get other teams out. Opponents have a .318 average against Harvard pitching and the Crimson’s staff has a combined ERA of 7.43 on the season.

This is also the opening round of the Baseball Beanpot which BC won lat year. The Eagles knocked off Harvard 3-2 in a rain shortened Beanpot final when they faced off last year and have won the last four matchups between the two teams. BC has won the last three Beanpots. The Eagles also lead the overall series 61-50-3.

What to Know About the UMass Minutemen

UMass is lead by Matt Reynolds, a former UMass player himself who is in his first full season on the job. With a 9-8 record in the early going, UMass appears to be a team built to manufacture runs rather than score in bunches, as their team on base percentage (.364) is actually higher than their team slugging percentage (.339). They’ve hit just three home runs in their 17 games and only one player has a slugging percentage above .400, so a solid day in the field would go a long way to help BC.

While their staff has better numbers than Harvard’s they are still not as strong as much of what BC faces in ACC play. Opponents have a .272 average against UMass pitchers this season and the Minutemen staff has a combined ERA of 5.39. Their ace, Justin Lasko, has a fantastic 1.91 ERA in his five starts, but he threw 107 pitches in eight innings of work on Friday in his team’s win over St. Bonaventure, so it is unlikely that he will be on the mound against the Eagles. UMass also appears to have some trouble once runners get on, as opponents have successfully stolen on 25 of 32 attempts. For an Eagle’s team that likes to run, Wednesday could be a busy day on the base paths.

UMass will take on Northeastern on Tuesday, so neither team will have a completely rested staff for Wednesday’s meeting. This game could also provide some insight into BC’s weekend series. The Eagles host Pitt for three games this weekend, and the Minutemen were swept by the Panthers in a series of their own earlier this season.

What to Know About the Boston College Eagles

With Clemson sweeping the weekend’s three game series the Eagles find themselves on the wrong kind of streak. With no wins in their last five, BC is just 9-16 on the season. The bats have gone a bit silent in their recent stretch, with BC scoring just 11 runs in those five games. The Eagles will have a good chance to right the ship over the next two days, as they will face two staffs that should give them a good opportunity to put some runs on the board.

The Eagles have six very winnable ACC games coming up in the next two weekends, as they will host Pitt in a three game series starting on Friday and Wake Forest the week after. Two strong showings should result in two wins, and that could go a long way in getting BC’s season back on track.

Prediction

Despite their recent five game losing streak, BC should go into these games expecting a split at the absolute minimum. They should be getting some looks at some midweek pitchers on staffs that have struggled this season and the bats should really start to come alive. It’s time for BC to start winning games and getting their season on the right track as they head into some important ACC matchups in the next handful of weeks. I’ll take the optimistic approach and say BC manages to take both of these games and hopefully head into the weekend with some momentum.