Boston College Baseball Evens NC State Series With 7-5 Win
By Joe Micik
Boston College Eagles pitcher Andrew Chin helped Birdball win the second game of its three-game set against the NC State Wolfpack on Saturday.
The 7-5 victory for the Eagles gives them their fourth conference win of the season, improving their record to 13-25 (4-16) on the year. Saturday’s triumph also allowed the team to surpass their 2013 win total of 12.
Chin went six innings in victory, allowing four runs while striking out seven. Patrick Peterson lost for NC State. Mike King picked up a three-inning save for Boston College.
As in many of the Eagles’ games this season, the other team struck first: in the bottom of the second, NC State got on the board with a Chance Shepard solo home run to left.
From there, a back-and-forth battle would ensue between the two ACC squads. Boston College got two runs in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead, thanks to an RBI single by Joe Cronin and an RBI ground-rule double by Chris Shaw. The Wolfpack got those two back and took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third, as Andrew Knizner smacked an RBI double to left and Logan Ratledge follow it up with an RBI single. In the very next half inning, the top of the fourth, Boston College tied the game at 3-3 on a Stephen Sauter RBI double.
The top of the fifth saw the Eagles go on top for good. Chris Shaw belted a rare Boston College home run, this one a two-run homer to give Birdball a 5-3 lead. It was answered in the bottom of the fifth by an NC State solo homer from Trea Turner, making it 5-4.
The Eagles got some insurance in the top of the ninth, getting another RBI single from Cronin and another RBI double from Shaw. Turner would homer again for NC State in the bottom of the ninth, but it would not be enough.
Boston College and NC State will play the rubber game of this series on Easter Sunday at 1pm in Raleigh.