Boston College Baseball Sweeps Maryland in Wounded Warrior Game
By Joe Micik
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
As Boston College Eagles baseball honored veterans through the Wounded Warrior Project on Sunday, they accomplished a new feat for this season: an ACC series sweep.
On Sunday afternoon at Commander Shea Field in Chestnut Hill, the Eagles defeated the Maryland Terrapins, 5-2. The win gives Birdball, who have now won five of their last six games, a three-game sweep of the Terps. Boston College improves to 17-27 (8-16) on the season.
The Eagles never trailed in this contest, which was ceremonially opened with a joint first pitch by Marine Corps Sergeant Ryan Casavant (Ret.) and Army Sergeant Erick Millette (Ret.). Boston College got on the board in the bottom of the second, with Tom Bourdon scoring the go-ahead run on a fielding E-3. Birdball would add to their lead in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 2-0 advantage as Michael Strem grounded to short, scoring Joe Cronin.
Perhaps the bigger story was the hits Maryland did not get. As a matter of fact, they were no-hit into the seventh inning by Boston College starter Jeff Burke, who earned his first win of the season on Sunday. The no-no was broken up as Brandon Lowe singled to lead off the seventh. The Terps would not score for those first eight innings on the mound; until the ninth, the Eagles starter threw eight shutout innings while allowing a single hit.
Now leading 5-0 entering the top of the ninth, thanks to three insurance runs from the Eagles in the bottom of the eighth, Burke remained on the mound but Maryland made their final push. After a walk and a double, he was replaced by Jesse Adams out of the bullpen. The Terps got to within four on an RBI single from Lowe, and then loaded the bases with nobody out to bring the tying run to the plate.
From there, a strikeout would give the Eagles a bit of a breather, a Maryland sac fly brought the Terps to within three but also hastened their final out, and a fly ball to right ended it.
Boston College will return to the diamond on Tuesday at Rhode Island.