Weekly Roundup: April 25, 2017

Every now and then, a weekend comes along that's pure adrenaline. Everything that can go right often does, providing an excitement capable of creating a lingering, palpable buzz. For Boston College, this weekend is a singular example.

The baseball team swept NC State, winning the ALS Awareness Game on Saturday at Fenway Park before clinching a doubleheader at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond on Sunday. Softball swept Georgia Tech, reasserting itself after a disappointing losses last week. Lacrosse beat Notre Dame on Senior Day in Newton, while men's golf's Christian Cavaliere created some individual waves at the ACC Championship.

Let's start on the baseball diamond: With an emotional win on Saturday in the ALS Awareness Game, the Eagles defeated NC State in a doubleheader on Sunday to collect all three games. The first home sweep since three wins over Georgia Tech in 2015, BC catapulted back into the thick of the ACC Tournament race.

I had a chance to talk to head coach Mike Gambino, who pointed out how the team used only five pitchers on the entire weekend. Starters Jacob Stevens, Dan Metzdorf and Brian Rapp all turned in quality starts, with Rapp completing the first complete game since Justin Dunn dominated Georgia Tech last May.

Boston College won an incredibly emotional game at Fenway Park on Saturday in the ALS Awareness Game. It featured a first pitch from the recently-diagnosed Chris Combs and an appearance by Eagle legend Pete Frates. Returning less than 12 hours later for a morning first pitch to a doubleheader thanks to Friday's deluge of rain, BC won a pair of low-scoring, one-run ball games that protected and saved the bullpen.

It put the ACC Tournament right in the team's crosshairs. With a 12-team, expanded format this year, the 6-15 Eagles have a pretty good shot at making the trip to Louisville. They sit tied with Georgia Tech two games behind a five-way tie between Duke, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, NC State and Notre Dame. Winning games becomes critical, and the critical games continue at home this weekend against a Miami team that's 10-10 in ACC play, also fighting for its conference tournament life.

That's the same Miami team from last year's NCAA Super Regional. Prior to the series, BC and Miami had no history. The 'Canes retained independent status in baseball despite their program joining the Big East, earning nearly 50-straight NCAA Tournament berths. They remained unaffiliated until they joined the ACC in the mid-2000s. As a result, BC and the U almost never crossed paths on the baseball diamond.

Realignment brought them together, but separate divisions kept them mostly apart. BC's first wins ever against Miami came in the 2009 ACC Tournament. When the Eagles went to Coral Gables last year, the national juggernaut Hurricanes had no reason to consider BC on par with their rivalry against someone like Florida State.

All of that changed in an instant. BC and Miami engaged in a legendary, intensely-heated series in Coral Gables last year, with the 'Canes prevailing in three. It tested, simmered and occasionally bubbled over all emotions, creating an instant rivalry.

These are big baseball games for both teams in the ACC Tournament race. Seven or eight teams are fighting for six spots and a big weekend one way or the other can either go a long way or wreak havoc on everyone's hopes and plans. So this weekend should provide some great baseball games, especially with the annual, fabled Wounded Warrior Project Game on Saturday afternoon.

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On the other side of Shea Field, softball regained its form in a big way. Swept by North Carolina on the road last weekend and handed a one-run loss to Massachusetts on home turf, the Eagles reclaimed their mojo with a three-game sweep of Georgia Tech.

"We didn't throw the ball well against UNC and UMass," head coach Ashley Obrest said. "We weren't clutch with runners on base, and the runs came from the bottom of our lineup. So we made some changes and moved the lineup around a little bit. We rotated new players in and out of the designated player role, stepped up our hitting, played some great defense and got aggressive. Clearly it paid off in a big way."

The wins reinvigorated an Eagles squad as they faced down adversity.

"It was a good character test for us," Obrest said. "Even after four losses, there was no pouting. We didn't feel sorry for ourselves. We went through some challenging practices (to get ready for Georgia Tech)."

For pitcher Jessica Dreswick, the wins carried another piece of history. Her win on Sunday broke broke the single-season victories record, and it made her the first 20-game winner in program history. She also reached the 150-strikeout mark with five K's in the game.

"She's seeing the same hitters 10 or 11 times per weekend so she's getting tested every time she throws," Obrest said. "We've said it a lot, but she's ridiculous to watch and she picks hitters apart."

Now 27-18 overall and 11-6 in conference play, the third-place Eagles still have their sights set on an NCAA Regional bid, which means midweek games become critical. It begins this week with a rematch against the Minutewomen who beat them last week. After that, Senior Weekend hits Shea Field against NC State.

"I usually send the updated RPI out to the team on Monday," Obrest said. "I didn't do it this week. But four or five girls on the team stopped by and asked what happened to our rankings. Even though we beat Georgia Tech, the loss to UMass knocked us down. So they know that we have the target on our backs in the midweek games, that teams are going to give us their very best. But we also know that we have to win those games, that we have to be better and throw the first punch. These late-season games are make or break every year."

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While drama unfolded from every corner of Chestnut Hill, the men's golf team hit the links for the ACC Championship at the Musgrove Mill Golf Club in Clinton, S.C. Playing on the par 72 course, freshman Christian Cavaliere attacked a stocked, nationally-respected ACC field through the first two rounds.

He shocked much of the league's elite with a -3 score to tie for 11th entering final round play. He finished the tournament ninth overall in birdies with 11 and finished -4 on par fives, leading a BC team that finished fifth in the ACC on those holes with a -10.

Golf is a unique sport because it has to harness an individual's score within a team frame. It's virtually impossible to quantify and analyze aggregate scores as a result; if one player has a good or bad round, it doesn't accurately portray how well someone shot over a larger body of work. For Cavaliere, a 30th-place finish shouldn't take away from how well he really played.

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The ACC Lacrosse Championship begins on Wednesday, meaning there's time to discuss Boston College's chances in Virginia. The Eagles defeated Notre Dame to close their regular season on Saturday, using a dominant second half to outscore the Fighting Irish, 11-3. With a 16-10 final, they clinched the fifth seed heading into the tournament in Richmond.

After Notre Dame led, 7-5, at the half, Laura Frankenfield and Kaileen Hart scored two minutes apart to tie the game at seven. The Irish's Casey Pearsall traded goals with Kaileen Hart and Kenzie Kent to make it 9-9, but then the Eagles ripped off seven in a row, four of which came from Kent, to take a 15-9 lead with under 7:30 to go.

"Notre Dame was killing us in transition," head coach Acacia Walker said. "We weren't urgent enough to slow their pace. They are just so darn good, with players like Grace Muller and Casey Pearsall, that their scorers got us on our heels. But we worked hard to get back and stay with them, and then we used our momentum from owning draw controls to take control and pull away."

Kent finished with five goals, with Sam Apuzzo added four of her own, going 2-for-3 on free positions. They were assisted by momentum created on draw controls, where the Eagles won 12 of 15 in the second half and 20-of-28 in the game.

The win clinched the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament and a rematch with the Irish in the first round of the conference tournament. We'll have more on that this week.

***

With all of the intensity of competition, it's worth ending this week's roundup on a more heartfelt note. Fans at Fenway Park set a new attendance record for the ALS Awareness Game with all ticket proceeds and donations from a 50/50 raffle going to the Pete Frates #3 Fund. That doesn't include the $5,000 donated by L Star Ventures to both the Frates family and Chris Combs for their respective donations.

I was fortunate enough to rank among the 3,603 who purchased a ticket, though I admittedly arrived late to Fenway. More than that, I was fortunate enough to overhear conversations among fans of both teams. NC State fans walking Landsdowne Street and Yawkey Way both remarked how humbling it was to see the first-ever ACC game at Fenway Park. As visitors to Boston, they didn't think they would ever get to see a game at the stadium and this gave them a special opportunity to soak in its traditions. I overheard BC fans, with their children, enjoying a great night at a historic place, creating memories.

As it is with the fight against ALS, the next step is already here, and Boston College remains at the forefront. For the second straight year, Eagles basketball alum Sean Marshall is putting together a roster to compete in The Basketball Tournament, a 5-on-5 bracket of 64 teams who compete throughout the summer for a championship prize. Marshall's team, comprised of alumni from around Division I, touts Matt Ryan and Pete Frates among its visible supporters.

Selection and seeding can be based on fan vote, with nine teams selected based on popularity for each region. Last year, Marshall helped put together the Skinner's Frate Train team which advanced to the second round. This year, Team Challenge ALS is back in the bracket, looking for help.

It's a good chance to relive some glory years and reminisce while raising awareness for a great cause. Click here to find out more.

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