:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29062413/chris-shaw.0.jpg)
Boston College baseball recorded its first shutout of the season with a resounding 8-0 victory over the Stetson Hatters on Saturday. Andrew Chin and Jeff Burke combined for eight innings and three hits on the hill, and Chris Shaw went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI as the Eagles evened the three game series at a game apiece with a rubber match slated for Sunday.
BC didn't waste any time jumping on the Hatters, scoring two in the third inning. After Nick Sciortino grounded out to start the inning, Joe Cronin doubled to left center field. He advanced to third when John Hennessy grounded out and scored when Blake Butera singled with two out. Butera would steal second to put a runner in scoring position with two down, and Shaw delivered in a big way, crushing a pitch to left center for an RBI double.
The Eagles increased the lead to 3-0 in the next frame when they scored another run on two hits and an error. Logan Hoggarth reached via an E-4 to open things up, but he was retired at second when Nick Colucci hit a ground ball. Colucci stole second to put a runner in scoring position and scored on the next batter when Johnny Adams singled to right center. Adams advanced to third when Sciortino singled to the right side, and the Eagles got two in scoring position when he stole second. With two on and one out, BC couldn't convert, though, as Cronin struck out and Hennessy flew out to left.
It remained 3-0 into the seventh when BC opened things up with late big innings. They scored three in the seventh and two in the ninth to put the game completely out of reach of the Hatters; with runners at the corners before stretch time, Hennessy plated Sciortino, and Shaw hit an RBI sac fly to score Cronin. Hennessy would later score when Tom Bourdon hit into a fielder's choice.
On the hill, Chin was rock solid, going 5.2 while allowing just two hits. After allowing a leadoff hit, he retired nine in a row, then got the next five to bring the Eagles into the fifth inning. He ran into some trouble in the fifth when he walked two with one out and loaded the bases with a hit batsman. But Mike Gambino brought in Jeff Burke, who promptly got the Eagles out of the jam with two consecutive outs.
Justin Dunn pitched the ninth for BC, allowing two hits but not allowing a run.
The win improved the Birdballers to 4-2 on the season. Just six games into the season, BC now has one-third of their wins from a year ago. They dropped the Hatters to 1-5 on the season with a rubber match scheduled for Sunday. John Gorman gets tabbed for the start for BC.