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Geoffrey Murphy had two doubles and two RBI in the day game, and Andrew Chin retired the last eight batters he faced as the Boston College baseball team completed a clean sweep of Santa Clara and Nevada on Saturday at Schott Stadium in Santa Clara, California. BC improved to 2-1 on the season heading into their final game of their west coast swing on Sunday against the host Broncos.
The Eagles didn't waste any time jumping on the Broncos, striking for two in the first inning of the first game. With one out, Joe Cronin reached on a two-base error. Two batters later, Murphy drove one down the left field line to bring him around to score. Chris Shaw than doubled to left, scoring Murphy. Both runs were credited as unearned, but BC staked itself to a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
BC manufactured a third run in the third to take a 3-0 lead as Blake Butera drew a walk and advanced to second on a single by Cronin. John Hennessy then grounded to third, allowing Cronin to be thrown out at second but beating out the subsequent play at first. With runners at the corners, Murphy grounded into a fielder's choice, and the Broncos conceded the run to give BC their extended lead. Santa Clara would score in the bottom of the eighth, but BC added one more in the ninth to give them their 4-1 final.
On the hill, John Gorman threw six shutout innings, scattering five hits. He pounded the zone for five K's, walked just two and induced six groundouts. He was relieved by John Nicklas; Nicklas went two innings and allowed the run in the eighth before turning the game over to Jesse Adams. Adams pitched a perfect ninth, striking out two, to shut down the Broncos and give the Eagles their first win of the season.
Andrew Chin took the hill for BC in their second game against Nevada in the nightcap; BC took an early 1-0 lead when Johnny Adams made his collegiate debut with an RBI infield single with runners on second and third. Nevada tied the game in the third when Kewby Meyer doubled and moved up two bases on wild pitches, scoring on a grounder to second. Chin settled down shortly thereafter and put in a solid performance, finishing with five strong innings and retiring the last eight batters he faced. He would exit with a 2-1 lead after Tom Bourdon mashed an RBI single, his first of 2014.
BC then went to work as the bullpen held the Wolf Pack at bay as the offense scored five runs in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 7-1. It included an RBI single by Butera (the 100th hit of his career) and a two-RBI double by Cronin that was laced down the right field line. Butera scored when Hennessy batted him in, distancing BC from Nevada and allowing BC to coast home behind strong arms.
Nick Poore allowed two runs before giving way to Eric Stone, who shut the door in the seventh. Mike King made his collegiate debut in the eighth, striking out one and shutting down Nevada's aluminum. He was allowed to return for the ninth, going 1-2-3 for a second consecutive inning to give BC a 7-3 victory.
The Eagles will return to action tomorrow night when they take on Santa Clara. The Broncos will play BC as part of their doubleheader day. BC will then return home to snowy New England before heading to Florida to take on Stetson. Both Gorman and Chin picked up victories as BC notched nearly 20% of its entire 2014 win total in one day.
For postgame remarks after the Santa Clara game, see below from the BC Bird Ball YouTube account:
Eagles Earn First Win (via Bird Ball)
