Baseball takes care of business with another big weekend ahead
It was a little too interesting down the stretch on Tuesday night, but a win’s a win.
No. 20 Birdball beat UMass Lowell 7-6 at home, moving to 34-14 on the season with a little over two weeks to go.
I’ve said this a few times now here, but it’s worth reiterating with each victory that continues to pile up in what’s turned into a potentially memorable 2026 season…the 2023 team that made the tournament concluded its run with 37 wins. This team should realistically get to at least 39 in the regular season (assuming they beat NJIT (x2), UMass Lowell again and take two of three vs. Clemson). Throw in a sweep of the Tigers or one from Georgia Tech and this very well could be a 40-win team.
A little dicey
On Tuesday night, the Eagles immediately jumped on the River Hawks (designated as the home team for this one), on a Ty Mainolfi RBI triple to right. Mainolfi scored on a ground out to short to make it 2-0.
U-Lowell scored one in the bottom of the second and third, but the Eagles were gifted a run on multiple pitches in the third and a sacrifice fly from Owen DeShazo that plated two on an error in the fourth. An RBI double for Gunnar Johnson and a Luke Gallo RBI single in the fifth made it 7-2.
The River Hawks scored twice in the sixth and seventh, but Sean Hand (3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K) got the save. Chase Hartsell (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K) came out with the win.
Julio Solier was 1-3 with two runs scored and two walks. Mainolfi had himself a day, going 4-5 with the RBI and two runs scored. As a team, BC banged out 10 hits and drew seven walks.
What’s next?
Now, it’s a huge weekend down in South Carolina. The Eagles are currently in third place in the ACC, three games behind No. 3 Georgia Tech and two behind No. 2 UNC. The top four in the regular season get a double bye in the ACC tournament, all but assuring BC’s spot in the NCAA tournament and an easier path to the ACC title game.
BC (16-8 ACC) is four wins clear of Miami and Florida State, who are 12-9 in the conference. A couple wins this weekend should help lock one of those spots in as well.
The magical ride is leading to what (should) be an electric Thursday, Friday and Saturday stretch on The Hill in two weeks, assuming both BC and Georgia Tech continue to take care of business.
