Boston College
Notre Dame
Notre Dame Completes Sweep Of Boston College Baseball
May 18, 2002 | Baseball
May 18, 2002
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Boston College baseball team entered this weekend controlling its own destiny. All the Eagles had to do was win one of the three games against Notre Dame to qualify for the BIG EAST tournament. Following Saturday's doubleheader sweep by the Irish, 10-6 and 5-2, the Eagles will now have to play the waiting game to see if they get a berth in next week's conference tournament in Bridgewater, N.J.
Boston College wraps up the regular season portion of its schedule with a 30-23 overall record and a 15-11 mark in the BIG EAST. Notre Dame, who has now won 32 of its last 35 games, concludes its regular season with a 41-14 overall record and an 18-8 mark in the BIG EAST. With the sweep, the Irish earn the No. 1 seed for next week's conference tournament.
The Eagles looked to rebound from a difficult loss on Friday night, as they jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead through their half of the fourth inning. Freshman pitcher Chris Lambert did not allow a hit through the first three innings.
The story of Boston College's four-run first inning was designated hitter Brian Durkin. The senior connected on his team-leading 13th home run of the season, when he blasted a three-run shot to right field. Durkin finished the first game 2-for-3 from the plate with three RBI and one run scored. The Eagles' first run of the inning came when center fielder Drew Locke knocked a single to left field, which allowed right fielder Eric Wright to score from first base.
Boston College posted two more run in the fourth inning to take a convincing 6-0 lead. Short stop Ryan Morgan connected on a two-run double off of Notre Dame relief pitcher Ryan Kalita. Morgan's double scored second baseman Josh DiScipio and third baseman Jason Delaney.
With the game in hand, the Notre Dame bats finally came alive in the fourth inning. The Irish posted seven run off of Lambert to regain the lead, 7-6. The hero of the fourth was the same hero in Friday night's contest. First baseman Joe Thaman pounced on his second grand slam of the weekend. Thaman, who was named BIG EAST Player of the Week last Monday, drove in designated hitter Matt Bok, catcher Paul O'Toole and third baseman Andrew Bushey. Three of the runs scored on Thaman's grand slam were registered as unearned. On Friday, Thaman hit a grand slam off of Mark Sullivan to push the lead to 8-2.
With the scored 7-6, Notre Dame posted another run in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Even with the 10 runs, the Irish were only able to muster up six hits. The Eagles finished the game out-hitting the Irish, 8-6.
Lambert (9-2), who started the season off with a 9-0 record, has now dropped two-consecutive outings. The freshman went five innings allowing six hits, nine runs (three earned), four walks and a season-low one strikeout.
Kalita (4-0) picked up the win after coming in to the game in the second inning for starting pitcher John Axford. Kalita allowed five hits, two runs (both earned) while striking out three batters.
The Irish kept their intensity alive in the second contest, as they jumped out to a quick, 4-0, lead following the third inning. Short stop Javier Sanchez, who went 2-for-4 in the second game, started things off by ripping a triple to center field off of BC freshman pitcher Kevin Shepard. Following the triple, Thaman grounded out to second base allowing Sanchez to score.
Following a walk to Stanley, who advanced to second on a balk and made it to third with a stolen base, a walk to Sollman and Stavisky being hit by a pitch, right fielder Kris Billmaier, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI, knocked a single through the left side scoring Stanley and Sollman. The final run of the inning came O'Toole hit a sacrifice fly to left field, which allowed Stavisky to score from third.
The Eagles finally got on the board in the sixth inning when catcher Jeff Mackor recorded his third triple of the season, which allowed Morgan to score from first base. Morgan got on base by singling down the left field line.
Boston College cut the lead to 4-2 when first baseman Vinny Scavone hit a sacrifice fly to left field, which scored Delaney from third base. Delaney was one of the few bright spots for the Eagles in game two. The freshman went 3-for-3 with a double and the one run scored. Mackor chipped in with a 2-for-4 game with the triple and the RBI.
Notre Dame posted its fifth run of the game in the seventh when Stanley scored following Stavisky's double-play groundout to second base. Stanley initially reached base with a single to left field. For Stanley, who entered weekend with the highest batting average in the conference, it was his first and only hit of the three-game series.
Notre Dame starting pitcher Peter Ogilvie (7-2) was solid for the Irish in game two in picking up his seventh win of the season. The junior pitched a complete game, as he allowed eight hits, two runs (both earned), three walks and struck out eight Boston College batters.
Shepard last only five innings in moving his season record to 5-3. The freshman allowed only three hits, but he gave up four runs (all earned), three walks while only striking out one batter. Sophomore Mike Gauthier had a strong relief outing for the Eagles, as he allowed five hits, one run (earned) and one walk in three innings of work.
