Baseball Beanpot: Boston College Loses to Harvard, 6-5

Boston College baseball has fallen in the first round of the 2014 Baseball Beanpot, losing to the Harvard Crimson by a 6-5 score.

It is their second loss to an Ivy League school in as many days, as Birdball fell in a 2-1 decision to the Dartmouth Big Green at Shea Field on Tuesday. This Wednesday defeat drops Boston College to 10-22 overall, with three losses in a row since their walk-off victory on spring game Saturday.

The Eagles have traditionally dominated the baseball Beanpot, which dates back to 1990, but the last time they won the title was in 2011. The last two years, however, Boston College has won the consolation game.

In this 2014 edition, the Eagles soared out of the gates to a 4-0 lead on just three hits, with plenty of help from the Harvard starting pitcher, Kevin Rex, who got yanked before he even recorded three outs.

From there, the Crimson would settle down and begin chipping away at the Eagles’ lead. Harvard scored one in the third, one in the fourth, and one in the sixth to make it a 4-3 contest, but it was not until the bottom of the eighth when Boston College’s untrustworthy bullpen gave up the lead. The Crimson plated three to take a 6-4 lead into the ninth.

The Eagles would manage to bring the go-ahead run to the plate when down to their final out, but the threat was neutralized.

Five runs seems like a lot for Boston College, because it is: including Wednesday’s baseball Beanpot game, they have a .225 team batting average with about 3.15 runs scored per game. Their .596 team OPS is not impressing many, either. Pitching has definitely been a problem as well, with the bullpen ERAs rising quickly.

Boston College will return to the baseball Beanpot on April 21, but their next series is in the ACC with a three-game set against Notre Dame in Chicago.