Boston College Athletics
Baseball Wins in Dramatic Fashion
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
May 2, 1998
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Junior first baseman Sean McGowan's three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted Boston College to an 8-5 BIG EAST win over Connecticut at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond.
McGowan's homer was his second of the game and his 14th of the season. He finished the day with three hits and five RBI.
Boston College (16-21-1) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and, after Connecticut registered one run in the third, extended its advantage to 5-1 with three runs in the home half of the third inning. The Eagles used three hits, including an RBI double by junior catcher Jeff Waldron and an RBI single by senior left fielder Chang Choe, to score its first two runs. In the third inning, McGowan hit a two-run blast and senior center fielder Brendan Levesque had an RBI single to account for the Eagles' runs.
Connecticut (22-17) battled back with three runs in the fourth and later tied the score at 5-5 with one run in the sixth frame. Third baseman Clarke Caudill drove in two runs with a bases-loaded double in the fourth inning to trim the BC advantage to 5-3. Caudill scored on right fielder Billy Rich's two-out single. The Huskies tied the score in the sixth when Rich lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring sophomore Glenn Katz, who had doubled to start the inning.
Both pitchers -- BC sophomore Steve Langone and Connecticut's Chris Barton -- had easy innings in the seventh and eighth frames. Langone faced the minimum six batters, fanning three. Barton allowed just one single, while fanning one and getting five infield outs.
In the ninth, sophomore Andy Sullivan limited Connecticut to one single and one intentional walk, setting the stage for McGowan's heroics. BC senior Greg Fulginite started the bottom half of the inning with a walk and advanced to second on freshman Mike Hubbard's sacrifice bunt. Connecticut intentionally walked Waldron, before Rich came on in relief to face McGowan. McGowan ended the game with a blast over the right-center field fence.
GAME NOTES: BC did not commit an error, marking the fourth game in its last five that the defense has been 'perfect' ... McGowan's two home-run effort was his second of the season. He also hit two homers in the season opener against St. Anselm ... Senior Brendan Levesque had three hits -- all singles -- for the victors.
at Chestnut Hill, MAConnecticut 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 - 5 10 2 Boston College 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 8 10 0
UC: Chris Barton, Billy Rich (9) and Brian Esposito. BC: Steve Langone, Andy Sullivan (9) and Jeff Waldron.
WP: Sullivan (4-4). LP: Barton (2-4).
HR - UC: None; BC: Sean McGowan 2 (14).
TEAM RECORDS: Connecticut 22-17-0; Boston College 16-21-1.
