I think I have probably started multiple game recaps with “I don’t know what to say anymore” or some variation of that and it is completely true: I don’t. This Boston College team has no hitting, no pitching, and no hope. But considering I am currently on summer vacation, I’m going to have a little bit of fun with all of you loyal Soaring to Glory readers and do a bit of a funky, creative recap to ease the pain of the Eagles faithful.

Even the beginning of this game was representative of the Eagles’ season. Their starter Andrew Chin only stayed for one inning in a “bullpen day”. Whatever that is supposed to mean, I don’t know but its execution is a basic concession of defeat. Putting in seven different pitchers is not a very ACC like thing to do. Who knows maybe, its just because Maine isn’t in one of the major conferences. Then again the America East Maine Black Bears are a BETTER team than the ACC Boston College Eagles!! With a now 32 and 19 the Maine Black Bears defeated the 11 and 38 Eagles in Chestnut Hill.

I don’t want to get into the nitty gritty of the game but rather I wish to use visual aids to describe it to you.

Dec 30, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Spencer Johnson (91) knocks the ball from New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) causing a fumble that was recovered by the Bills during the second half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Jets 28-9. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Sep 11, 2011; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) fumbles the ball during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Farrell/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

May 3, 2013; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; San Jose Sharks forward Raffi Torres (13) scores against Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo (1) during overtime of game two of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Rogers Arena. The San Jose Sharks won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

May 11, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Adam Dunn (32) drops a pop fly hit by Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols (not pictured) during the fifth inning at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Apr 20, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; New York Yankees center fielder Brett Gardner (11) fails to catch a double hit by Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Melky Cabrera (not pictured) in the first inning at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

I hope this sums it up/gives you a chuckle.

On a sunny, slightly brisk day at Chestnut Hill’s Shea Field, spirits were high. The first batch of students that attended received free Boston College hats(can’t say that I didn’t take up upon that offer myself). It’s too bad that I picked up a Large hat for my dome because when I realized that wearing it any further would give me a headache that is only saved for a Nickleback/Creed double bill, the XL hats were gone. So while braving a headache from the hat and other factors, I sat down to watch the 2:30 series opener between the Boston College Eagles and Virginia Tech Hokies.

Starting on the mound for the Eagles was senior righty Hunter Gordon, coming in hot with a 1-4 record on the season, with hitters batting .246 against him. Obviously W-L record really don’t matter for this team. Starter Eric Stevens’ record is 0-10 with a 6.42 ERA. On the other hand, John Gorman has an even more horrid ERA at 6.48, but has 3 wins. Take what you will from that but it is definitely seen that Gordon’s efforts on the hill haven’t been backed up by the Birdball offense.

I would make a joke comparing the probability of the Eagles putting up five runs to predictability of going out with someone with match with on Tinder, but after this game I’m pretty much convinced that Tinder sprouts more love than Coach Gambino’s crew puts men across the plate.

And oh boy, did the Eagles shortchange their pitcher!

Hunter Gordon came in against the No. 25 ranked Virginia Tech Hokies and throughly dominated. Virginia Tech came in with a stellar .286 BA with 310 runs(6.59 per game). For the purposes of comparison, Boston College is barely staying above the Mendoza line at .205, only driving in 150 runs(3.26 per game). Taking down a lineup like the Hokies with eight strikeouts while owning the outside corner should be rewarded by your teammates, the Eagles refused to help him or any of the other hurlers in 12 innings.

Now, if you are a Virginia Tech Hokie fan reading this blog for some reason(Obviously it’s for my humor and obscure references), don’t think that I am discounting SP Joe Mantiply’s outing. The senior has had a stellar career for the Hokies and he continued his solid season by throwing seven scoreless, but when a baseball team is unable to get three hits in 12 innings, there is a right for the fan to mock, without even considering their competition.

I will give a more full recap by the end of this weekend, as the series continues, but finals call me. I know you’re asking, “Kyle, how could someone as brilliant as you need to be studying on a Friday night?” I give you two words: Research Methods.

Anyways, have a great night you crazy, wild Boston College Eagles fans. Hopefully we’ll see you tomorrow(today) at 1:30 PM at Shea Field. But for now, have a good night.

Are there any more words you can spare on the Eagles at this point, without even being repetitive. Probably even that opening line has become cliche among the Boston College blogs. Obviously this is not my intention, but there is hardly anything enticing about the current squad in the Heights.

So today, after getting their first ACC win after 21 attempts, the Boston College Eagles baseball team attempted to put together consecutive wins for the first time since beating UConn and Harvard on 4/2 and 4/3. Prior to yesterday’s 1-0 win against the Miami Hurricanes, the Eagles’ hadn’t won a game since “beating up” on Ivy League Dartmouth 9-5.

Actually, aside from all of the negativity that is going to be expressed in this game recap, today the Boston Colleges Team supported the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides assistance to wounded veterans coming home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The team honored veterans prior to the game and several came out for the first pitch. The Eagles also wore commemorative Under Armour jerseys with the Stars and Stripes displayed on the sleeves.

The game started like most Boston College baseball games:getting off to an early deficit. The Hurricanes battered the Eagles starting pitcher Junior Eric Stevens(0-10), who is currently seems to be on track to challenge Anthony Young’s infamous streak, in the top of the second with Miami Sophomore CF Dale Carey doubling down the line in left driving in the runners on first and second, who had gotten on board with consecutive singles.

Stevens was able to last till the top of the sixth, where he was pulled after only getting an out. In total, he gave up five runs on ten hits and two walks. Sophomore Nick Poore came in for Stevens giving the Eagles 3 scoreless innings with an equal number of strikeouts.

The other end of the pitching bill couldn’t have been any different. Miami Sophomore starting pitcher Brian Radziewski, who is putting together an all-around incredible season with only an 0.95 ERA in 56.2 innings, pitched a complete game shutout only allowing 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8. Considering yesterday’s Miami starter Chris Diaz’s only run was unearned, Miami pitchers haven’t given up an earned run in 18 innings against the Eagles.

Obviously that is not an optimal fact for these Eagles who have struggled to put runners across the plate all season. To put it in perspective, Boston College is trailing Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in runs scored this season at 281st place among Divsion I programs coming into this weekend, having only 131 marks on the scoreboard. This problem is compounded by the fact that the team can barely stay above the Mendoza Line with a .208 batting average(294th out of 296 DI teams).

I don’t know what needs to be done with Boston College Baseball, because clearly where it is right now seems pretty hopeless. There is no fire or excitement right now. Freshman SS Joe Cronin bunting right after Blake Butera walked in the first inning was about the most interesting part about the game today. Even with a team so inept at the plate, at least a bit of scrappiness can be implemented to make game watchable, but manager Mike Gambino hasn’t been able to instill that sort of culture into the team. Maybe he isn’t even feeling like his team should do that. But when your team lacks extra base hit power, you must adjust.

Hopefully things will improve. Hopefully a proper stadium will be built that will attract more than the usual crowd of family and bros with tailgate coolers. But right now all we know is that we have a Boston College baseball team with a 7 and 35 record with a 1 and 21 line in the ACC. See you at the “rubber match” tomorrow 12 PM Shea Field.

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So today I went out on a date with Kate Upton. Went pretty well. But she’s definitely not up to my standards. She’s going to get that no call treatment. Anyways, gotta get the polo shirt out of the wash because Mark Wahlberg and Tom Brady are waiting on me to pick them up for a little early evening tee time. Going to ditch them on the 10th hole cause I’m going to have some Arnold Palmer with Arnold Palmer. That’s honestly just how I roll.

In other news, Boston College picked up their first ACC victory in a shutout of the Miami Hurricanes(28-17,10-12 ACC) by the score of 1-0.

It was a pitcher’s duel throughout as neither starters gave up any earned runs throughout their outing. Boston College Senior Hunter Gordon went 6 1/3 innings giving up no runs, only 3 hits and 4 walks. Gordon’s Miami counterpart, Freshman Chris Diaz, who has had an incredible rookie year sporting a 1.53 ERA in 76.2 innings prior to the game, went 8 innings without allowing an earned run, but an unearned run in the third gave Diaz his fourth loss.

In the bottom of the third, with one out, Travis Ferrick singled followed by a Gabriel Hernandez single. So, with runners of first and second, Blake Butera hit a sharp grounder to short. Miami shortstop Brandon Lopez flipped it to second baseman Alex Hernandez for the out. But then Hernandez tried to get Ferrick out at third but the throw went over the head of the third baseman and BC got the decisive run.

Hey at least Boston College was able to get their first ACC win on their 21st attempt. I guess that was the trick. The attendance was pretty good for a weekday game, despite the fact it was mostly Miami fans. Obviously the Hurricane faithful were none too pleased that their team was Boston College’s first ACC victim.

But let the little people cry as I finish this blog and jet off to tee time at Augusta. I’ll be back in the AM for the Wounded Warrior Game at Shea Field where the Eagles will attempt to improve on their 7 and 34 record (1-20 ACC). See you there at 1:30. Also tell that scrub Verlander he can have Kate Upton back. Not up to Soaring to Glory standards.

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Nov 17, 2012; West Point, NY, USA; Temple Owls head coach Steve Addazio talks to his team during a time out in the second half against the Army Black Knights at Michie Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

On Marathon Monday, Boston saw a lot of tragedy. But literally right before the explosions were heard in Copley Square, at 2:45 EST 247 4 star WR/ATH Thaddius Smith out of Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, PA committed to the Boston College Eagles. His other top finalists were Temple, James Madison University and Villanova.

First seen on the Twitter wire by Matt Alkire of UpperHand Promotions:

Thadd Smith #BostonCollege #OHara

— Matt Alkire (@MattAlkire) April 15, 2013

Thaddius Smith, if you may remember is one of the players that BC’s first 2014 commit, Marcus Outlow was looking to convince to join him at Boston College. Obviously that tag team of Outlow and Coach Addazio were enough to persuade the presumable slot reciever(he is 5’11) to commit. Perhaps the snowball effect of BC recruits will continue as more buzz begins to surround what is happening with the Fighting Addazios in Chestnut Hill.

Thaddius Smith had quite the junior season this past Fall. The overall numbers weren’t particularly gaudy, considering Smith also plays a couple of series on defense at O’Hara, but the averages are something that you’d do for as you would a Klondike bar. On 57 rushing attempts he gained 363 yards(4 TDs) for a 6.37 yards per carry. On the receiving end he got 426 yards on 33 catches with 8 TDs and a B-E-A-Utiful 12.9 avg per catrch.

Honestly, you cannot fully tell how giddy I am for this class of Eagles Coach Addazio is bringing in 2014. Unfortunately I will only be able to experience it in my Senior Year, but at least it’s something much better than we would have seen under the last two Boston College coaches with “z”‘s in their names.

So, everyone, please welcome the fifth recruit of BC’s 2014 class, Thaddius Smith to the Heights!! Also, credit Ryan Day for the lead on recruiting the 247 149th best player in the country to Boston College!!

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Boston College baseball continued their trend of mediocrity today by dropping both games of today’s double header against the No.19 ranked NC State Wolfpack team. These two losses add up to the Eagles losing their first 16 games against ACC opponents this year. This also reduces the Eagles record to 6-28 on the 2013 season. The reason the set of games this Saturday was because the game on Saturday needed to be cancelled due to the rain in Chestnut Hill Friday afternoon.

In the first game, the Eagles had a 5-0 lead after finishing the second inning. But the NC State Wolfpack were able to beat up Eagles starting pitcher Hunter Gordon in the fourth peeling off four runs. The final blow was put on the Eagles, with freshman Jeff Burke on the mound, when the Wolfpack got two runs in the bottom of the Sixth.

The Eagles weren’t able to answer back against the combo of Thomas, Easley, and Sasser for the final seven innings after starting pitcher Rodon was taken out after he gave up the five runs.

The second game was even more of a wash for the Eagles. After getting a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, when catcher Matt Pare scored on an error, the Wolfpack put on six runs between the next two innings. The Eagles were only able to crack the box score once more in the seventh with a Gabriel Hernandez sacrifice fly. Then NC State closed out the Eagles 6-2.

The Eagles will play next on Sunday at noon in the finale against the NC State Wolfpack. Hopefully they will be able to get their first ACC win.

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Apr 7, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Boston College Eagles forward Johnny Gaudreau (13) against the Ferris State Bulldogs during the first period of the finals of the 2012 Frozen Four at Tampa Bay Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Obviously, there was some outrage for the Boston College fanbase on Twitter voicing their frustrations with the Hobey Baker committee’s selection. Johnny Gaudreau was tied for fourth in the nation in points with 51. LeBlanc was right behind him with 50, but led the nation with 37 assists.

The criteria for the award as noted by the Hobey Baker committee:

Candidates must exhibit strength of character both on and off the ice.
Candidates must contribute to the integrity of the team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game.
Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportmanship.
Candidates must comply with all NCAA rules: be full time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; and complete 50% or more of the season.

So, we can all theorize on why Johnny Gaudreau did not win this award over the man from St. Cloud, but obviously we will never know the exact reasons from the voters. Anyways, Boston College has won four national championships in thirteen years and will have continued success with a stellar recruiting class coming in next year. Have no fear BC faithful!! Despite the fact that Johnny didn’t win this year, he still has at least one more year to compete for college hockey’s Heisman.

More analysis on the Hobey Baker selection will be up tomorrow afternoon. Have a great Marathon Monday weekend and keep on reading Soaring to Glory!!

Follow @KeganSTG

Nov 17, 2012; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles quarterback Chase Rettig (11) rolls out of the pocket during the fourth quarter against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alumni Stadium. Virginia Tech Hokies won 30-23. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Coach Addazio has been talking about implementing the Tim Tebow type dual threat offenses he ran at Florida and the coach has finally got his man. Wade in his Junior season at Middletown High School passed for 2275 yards with 27 touchdowns, combined with 546 rushing, scrambling into the endzone seven times.

The story was first reported by 247:

Three-star QB Darius Wade has committed to Boston College. Addazio and Co. are rolling right now. #BCEagles…. bit.ly/Z4N3oE

— Boston College (@BCEagles247) April 9, 2013

And the interesting part of this story is that in addition to obvious effort that Addazio & Co. put into recruiting Wade, they got a bit of an assist according to 247′s twitter feed. In fact, Boston College’s first 2014 recruit, RB Marcus Outlow helped persuade Wade to commit to the Heights. And if you wouldn’t believe it the snowball effect(literally the only important term I have learned in Research Methods) might just continue.

Full interview/story up in the A.M. with Darius Wade. Here’s a teaser – he’s already targeting a four-star WR to join him.
#BCEagles

— Boston College (@BCEagles247) April 9, 2013

If this is true, the Eagles will have gotten off to a good recruiting start that was unseen under previous coach Frank Spaziani. Darius Wade is BC’s fourth verbal commit, joining 247 three stars Harold Landry, Marcus Outlow, and Isaac Yiadom.

Darius Wade also holds offers from Bucknell, Clemson, NC State, UMass, Nebraska, Delaware, Syracuse and Temple according to Rivals. Yes, we beat two ACC schools and Nebraska for a quality recruit. If you’re a true Boston College Eagle fan, you’ve got to be impressed with this torrid start to the recruiting season.

This Darius Wade’s recruiting video(link from BCI):

Anyways, let’s all welcome Darius Wade to the Heights!! He is on Twitter @Therealdwade4. His account is locked, so please don’t commit any NCAA booster violations in trying to get a follow(I mean don’t stalk him)!

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Apr 1, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; A view of a baseball on the field during batting practice before a game between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

With the brisk winds coming in from the Res, Boston College Baseball finally started off its home schedule against the Harvard Crimson by beating the Ivy Leaguers for their fifth victory of the year 8-6 at Shea Field.

Boston College pitcher Matt Alvarez started the first three innings, letting in two runs, while picking up his first win of the season. Harvard’s starter Peter Kaplan dropped to 0-4 on the year giving up seven runs in two and a third.

Boston College’s offense was on early in the bottom of the first filling up the bases with no outs only for Kaplan to put on his Houdini cape and escape the jam with two swinging strikeouts and a simple pop out.

But Harvard was able to come back in the top of the third, when Alvarez was starting to lose some of his control of his pitches on the outside corner. He had two wild pitches and after a bit of hard, boring baseball the Crimson were able to push two across the plate.

Now, as has been the case throughout the Eagles’ rough and tumble year, this could have been the time where the Eagles laid down and died but Coach Gambino’s squad came alive in the bottom half.

Left fielder Jimmy Dowdell, who came in for Gabriel Hernandez, tripled down the left field line driving in two runs. Freshman shortstop Joe Cronin followed him with a double to deep center. The Eagles got two more runs in the inning pushing the lead to five runs, at 7-2.

Harvard started to come back throughout the game, really making it scary for the Superfans who braved the weather at Shea Field in the ninth after the Crimson’s Kregel hit a bomb over the fences in left cutting the Eagles lead to 8-6. Harvard then got two on, with two outs but Eagles pitcher Nick Poore was able to slam the door, forcing Wineski to fly out to Tom Bourdon in center field to end the affair.

It was a good victory for Boston College over their safety school Harvard. Perhaps maybe Harvard should work on their play on the field more than making YouTube videos(yes, they made that Call Me Maybe video that got over 17 million hits) as their record falls to 4 and 17. The Eagles move up to 5 and 22, with a game coming up on Friday at home against Clemson. See you there!!!

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Nov 17, 2012; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles defensive back Dominique Williams (9) celebrates a tackle during the fourth quarter against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alumni Stadium. Virginia Tech Hokies won 30-23. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Another recruit for new Boston College coach Steve Addazio as he attempts to build the “4 hour fence” of recruits around the Heights as Isaac Yiadom, a WR/DB from Worcester verbally committed. Yiadom is a 6’0, 170 lb who actually plays on both sides of the ball for Doherty High School. Last season, he got 1,267 all purpose yards, along with 76 tackles and 8 interceptions in the defensive backfield. So basically this is a kid who is tough enough to garner 13 touchdowns while going right back on the field to play defense. This is something I really like to see in a prospect. On Rivals, Yiadom is given a 3 star rating and has offers from Bryant, Holy Cross, and UConn, while Virginia Tech was starting to gain interest.

According to ESPNBoston.com, Yiadom chose BC because he believes that Coach Addazio is putting the right pieces in place to turn around the program. Yiadom is solid in the classroom with a 3.6 GPA. He is quoted in the ESPN Boston article:

“That’s why my dad loves BC, he wanted me to go there,” Yiadom said. “I wouldn’t have trouble getting a good job if I don’t [go to the NFL]. If I had to choose any school in New England, close to my family, or really any school in the country, it’s BC. Everybody there is real.”

This is similar to the strategy that Coach Addazio used in wooing the first Class of 2014 recruit RB Marcus Outlow, who chose BC over schools like Florida and Ohio State. The strong academics of Boston College should definitely not be a hindrance in recruiting but rather a tool. The fact of the matter is that over 90% of DI football players will not be paid for their performance on the field beyond college. The rigorous academics of a school like Boston College prepare athletes better than most other schools when it’s time to hang up the cleats and that is what Isaac Yiadom saw through Coach Addazio’s, I suspect, enthused recruiting speech.

Anyways, this is a great early addition to the Class of 2014 and we at Soaring to Glory hope to see many more quality pick ups by the new coaching staff in the future. In the meantime, we’d like to congratulate and welcome Isaac Yiadom to the Heights and hope he has a successful career here, if he holds the commitment.

Story was first reported by ESPN Boston’s Brendan Hall last night:

Doherty 2014 WR/DB Isaac Yiadom (@isaacshowtime) tells us tonight he has committed to Boston College. Was offered earlier this week on visit

— Brendan Hall (@BHallESPN) March 29, 2013

Also check out Isaac Yiadom’s recruiting film:

Check out Fansided150.com for all college football recruiting updates!!

Follow @KeganSTG