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A torrential downpour soaked Harrington Athletics Village and the new Brighton Stadium with one out in the bottom of the eighth, halting the game and eventually ending it, but luckily the Boston College baseball team was up 9-7 at the time, giving them the victory over the visiting Maine Black Bears.
BC used six pitchers in the back-and-forth rain-shortened game, with only one, junior John Witkowski, lasting more than an inning. Witkowski, who pitched the fourth, fifth, and six, was also the only Eagle hurler to not surrender an earned run. Both teams scored a single run in the first and fifth and two runs in the third and seventh, but the Eagles plated a run in the fourth after holding Maine scoreless in the top of the frame, and two runs in the bottom of the eight after the Black Bears scored one, giving them the two-run victory.
Offensively, Boston College was paced by sophomore Brian Dempsey who enjoyed a career day at the plate, going 4 for 4 with two RBI. His classmate Dante Baldelli also had a nice day, going 2 for 4, and junior Gian Martellini drove in three in a 1 for 3 performance.
Some Thoughts:
In a season that has seen far fewer victories than losses, it’s nice to close out the home schedule with a win, albeit against a team that Boston College should have easily handled. It was a little disheartening to see BC’s pitchers struggle to slow down the Maine offense, but, as mentioned in the preview for this game, the Black Bears do swing the bat relatively well and have considerable pop in their lineup. With no postseason possible for the Eagles, the goal moving forward will be to take the final ACC series of the season at Miami starting Thursday before the players head into summer ball. While beating Miami won’t prolong Boston College’s season, it would be incredibly sweet to take down the Hurricanes at their place and hand Jim Morris a series loss in his final games in Coral Gables. I’m not one to hold a grudge or speak ill of other programs, but there is no love lost between these two teams dating back to their days in the Big East and especially not after the incident in the 2016 Super Regional. Beat the ‘Canes.