The No. 22 Boston College Eagles (22-9, 9-4 ACC) baseball team picked up a 6-1 road victory over the No. 6 UNC Tar Heels (25-5-1, 9-4 ACC) in the series opener on Thursday night.
Boston College’s biggest key to success this season has been its small ball ability. However, UNC used small ball to take the early advantage over the Eagles.
The Tar Heels got on the board 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning. Owen Hull hit a deep single down the right field line to lead off the frame for UNC and advanced to second on a single by Macon Winslow. Hull stole third and crossed home plate on an error by Eagles catcher Gunnar Johnson who attempted to pick Hull off at third, but overthrew the base.
That marked UNC’s only run of the contest.
The Eagles responded and knotted up the contest at 1 in the top of the third. Julio Solier knocked down a leadoff double and advanced to third on a groundout by Ty Mainolfi. Nick Wang brought Solier home on a deep sacrifice fly just shy of the center field warning track.
Boston College went in front 2-1 in the fourth on an RBI single by Gunnar Johnson. Prior to Johnson’s plate appearance, Carter Hendrickson reached base after being hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a groundout by Luke Gallo to get into scoring position for the base hit.
After a scoreless fifth frame, the Eagles added some run support 3-1 in the sixth on an RBI single by Colin Larson. The hit brought in Danny Surowiec from second after getting hit by a pitch and advancing to third on a single by Johnson.
In the eighth, the Eagles tacked on another run on a bases-loaded drawn walk by Solier to make the score 4-1.
Boston College added two final runs to the board in the ninth, the first on an RBI triple by Jack Toomey and the other on a sacrifice fly by Hendrickson to make the final score 6-1.
Left-handed pitcher and ace A.J. Colarusso (3-1, 2.88 ERA) started on the mound for the Eagles. In the outing, Colarusso pitched six innings and allowed five hits, one unearned run, walked three batters, and struck out seven with 106 total pitches.
Cesar Gonzalez entered out of the bullpen and pitched the remainder of the game. Colarusso recorded the win, his third of the year. Gonzalez was credited with the save, his second of the season.
Next up, Boston College and UNC play the middle game of the series on Friday evening. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. ET on ACCNX.
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