BC baseball swept by NC State to end season

The 2011 Boston College baseball season ended the way it began: with a loss. At Commander Shea Field on Saturday afternoon, NC State beat BC by a score of 6-1 in what will be the Eagles’ last game of the year. They were officially eliminated from the ACC Tournament picture last week, and the Wolfpack, now winners of five in a row, have some momentum going into that same competition.

This three-game sweep has dropped the Eagles’ final record to 17-33 (7-22), even worse than the 19-32 (9-20) finish that I had projected at a little after mid-season. The 2011 campaign, new coach Mike Gambino’s first, will go down as a highly forgettable one. Former coach Mik Aoki had some sub-.500 years before getting BC to the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, but this year was much worse than any of those (and I am not pointing the finger at the coach; it was a team effort).

A 17-33 record means a win percentage of .340, for those who failed math. The last time the Eagles had a win percentage at or below that level was 1984, when they went 7-17 (.292). This program is only two years removed from its first NCAA Tournament appearance in over 40 years, and now, BC has had its worst season in nearly 30.

Still, there is reason for optimism. As Brian Foley pointed out last month,

"The aura around Mike Gambino throughout the country is that he is a monster on the recruiting trail and will be bringing in some great talent like he did at Virginia Tech."

While this year, the Eagles were undoubtedly one of the least teams in the ACC, when looking at the big picture of years down the road, things may recover quickly.

Another brief recap of this baseball season will appear next week in Part IV of the 2010-2011 BC Year in Review.