Shaw's 4 RBIs Lead BC Past Pack Nine, 7-5

Chris Shaw went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, including his second homer of the season, and Andrew Chin threw six strong innings as Boston College evened the series with a 7-5 victory over North Carolina State on Saturday night at Doak Field in Raleigh.

The Eagles improved to 13-25 (4-16 ACC) while NC State dropped to 21-16 (7-13 ACC).

Chin started the game strong on the bump for BC, retiring the first inning in order and the first batter of the second.  But Chance Shepard saw an end to the perfect game, no-hitter, and shutout all in one fell swoop when he took a 2-2 pitch from Chin over the left field fence to make it 1-0 Wolfpack.  The lefty made it an anomaly, however, as he quickly retired the next two batters.

BC responded in the top of the third by scoring twice with a two-out rally.  After John Hennessy struck out and Stephen Sauter flew out to center, Gabriel Hernandez bunted down the third base line to put himself on.  Butera then singled to the hole at short to put two on with two out.  Joe Cronin singled to score Hernandez, and Shaw hit a ground rule double down the left field line to score Butera and make it a 2-1 Eagle lead.

The Wolfpack traded the lead back in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead. Andrew Knizner doubled down the line in left, and Trea Turner legged out a run by scoring from first.  Brett Austin worked a five pitch walk to put runners on first and second, setting up Logan Ratledge.  Ratledge delivered on an 0-2 pitch with a single to center, scoring Knizner.

That lead didn't last a full inning, though, as BC tied it in the top of the fourth.  Nick Colucci singled to right center with one out, scoring two batters later when Sauter creamed a double left center.  BC then took the lead in the fifth when Shaw hit a two-run homer with one out to score Cronin.  The homer was hit through the power alley in right center on a 2-0 pitch and was just the Eagles' fourth long ball of the year.  The hit gave BC a 5-3 lead which NC State cut to 5-4 in the next half frame off the bat of Turner.  He homered to respond and cut the lead in half.

The game stayed 5-4 into the ninth where BC finally pulled away for good.  Butera walked and stole second, and Cronin singled him in with a base hit up the middle.  Shaw doubled to right center, scoring Cronin and giving the Eagles a 7-4 lead.

Mike King, in his third inning of work, got the first two outs of the ninth before Turner homered again to cut the lead to 7-5, but he retired Andrew Knizner on a grounder to short with deuces wild to end the game.

Patrick Peterson (1-1) lasted five innings for the Pack Nine, throwing 67 pitches while giving up eight hits and five runs, all earned.  He struck out three and walked one.  He was relieved by twin brother Eric, who gave up three hits over four innings of work but did surrender two runs.  He struck out five and walked two.  The duo are transfers to NC State from Temple, who announced a cut of their program prior to the season.

As for the Eagles, Chin went six innings to pick up the victory and improve to 3-2 on the season.  He struck out seven and walked just two, surrendering four runs on four hits.  He induced nine groundouts while throwing 104 pitches, 68 of which were strikes.  King picked up his first career save with a three-inning stop, allowing just the one run on the homer in the ninth.  He struck out four and walked two.

At the dish, Shaw had a monster day by going 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored.  Cronin was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and two runs scored, and Butera was 1-for-4 with a couple of runs scored.  The Eagles tallied 11 hits and left seven on base, one of their best showings of the season in an area where they struggled mightily.

For the Wolfpack, Trea Turner went 2-for-5 with the two long balls, three runs scored, and two RBI.

The teams will meet again on Sunday in a rubber match at 1 PM at Doak Field.  The game will be televised by ESPN3.com.