For all the pitch clocks, timers, and strategy employed by the baseball universe to shorten games, absolutely nothing beats the simplistic feel of a quick shutout. Its anatomy is simple: a pitching staff dominates and an offense does enough to know the other team isn't coming back. Both phases hit cruise control in such a way that the score doesn't reflect a blow out while at the same time indicating one team stood practically no shot.
BC's pitching staff needed just 92 pitches to complete a two-hit shutout of the Big Green, and the offense used a second inning run and seventh inning insurance run to pace the Eagles to a 2-0 victory over Dartmouth in Hanover, NH on Tuesday.
Dartmouth's only hits came against the first two Eagle pitchers used. Ben Socher led off the offensive game for the Big Green with a single off starter Nick Poore, and first reliever Luke Fernandes surrendered a lead off single to Dustin Shirley in the bottom of the seventh. Poore (1-3) earned the win by throwing five innings, while Fernandes threw two. Jesse Adams pitched a perfect eighth, and John Nicklas echoed the performance in the ninth for his third save of the year.
BC took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Chris Shaw singled to center and advanced to second on a passed ball. After Donovan Casey moved him up a bag to third, Stephen Sauter grounded out to second, recording an RBI when the run scored.
In the top of of the seventh, Shaw again singled to start the offense after being green lit on a 3-0 count and scored two batters later when Joe Cronin doubled down the left field line off reliever Chris Burkholder. Both runs ended up charged to starting pitcher Chris England.
Poore, meanwhile, cruised through five innings. After allowing the first hit, he settled down to face just one over the minimum through five innings. He induced 10 ground outs while striking out three. He walked only one, throwing 50 pitches for the start. Fernandes faced the minimum despite allowing the hit, throwing 17 pitches to six batters over two innings of work, striking out one. Adams threw 16 pitches in his only inning, and Nicklas threw nine pitches in the ninth.
The Eagles only mustered five hits, three of which were off the bat of Shaw, who also scored both runs. Sauter and Cronin had the only other hits, both for an RBI.
England (0-2) absorbed the loss for the Big Green, who fell to 6-19 on the season. BC improved to 14-16 with the win.
The game was delayed by a late-arriving Boston College Eagles team that got stuck in traffic.
Next up for the Big Green is a date with the Holy Cross Crusaders, while BC takes on Northeastern in the Baseball Beanpot later today. The 3 PM first pitch currently stands as the first opportunity for the Eagles to take the field on the Pellegrini Diamond at Shea Field for their first official home game.