Boston College Athletics
Boston College
BIG EAST Championship
Baseball drops out of BIG EAST Tourney with 6-5 loss to Seton Hall
May 22, 2000 | Baseball
May 20, 2000
Bridgewater, N.J. - - Boston College had a runner at third with two outs in the ninth but fell 90-feet shy, dropping a 6-5 decision to Seton Hall in Saturday's elimination round (May 20) of the BIG EAST tournament in Bridgewater, N.J. BC concluded the season with a school-record 35 victories (35-20), including a 2-2 mark for third in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Eagles, who were picked to finish seventh in the preseason conference poll, were the only BIG EAST team to hand Notre Dame two losses during the year. BC defeated the Fighting Irish 4-3 on Mike Quirk's (Paxton, Mass.) dramatic ninth-inning, two-run home run in round one Wednesday (May 17). After recovering from a 12-4 loss to Seton Hall Friday afternoon, Boston College sent ND home with a 6-5 victory Friday night in round three, thanks to Brendan Nolan's (Swampscott, Mass.) complete-game outing.
The Eagles' 15-hit offensive charge against SHU Saturday was paced by Jarett Mendoza (North Dighton, Mass.), who went 4-for-4 with a run scored. Mike Gambino (Garrison, N.Y.), Mike Quirk, Mike Hubbard (Braintree, Mass.) and Joe Kealty (Framingham, Mass.) each picked up a pair of hits. Jaime Quiros (Jamaica Plain, Mass.), who recorded the loss (1-3), gave up six runs on seven hits in 6.0 innings. Erik Olson (Reading, Mass.) shut down SHU for one hit in 2.0 innings of work.
BC and SHU each scored one run in the first three innings of Saturday's game until Gambino singled in Mendoza to give the Eagles a 2-1 edge in the top of the fourth.
The Pirates' Alfie Critelli answered with a three-run home run in the bottom of that inning, scoring Tony Calabrese and Brian Leighton, who doubled and walked to start the rally. Quiros struck out the next two batters to end the inning. SHU scored two more runs in its next at bat to take a 6-2 lead through five innings.
BC plated three runs in the last two innings. Kealty singled through the right side to score two Eagle runs in the top of the eighth to bring BC within two. Brian Durkin (Lowell, Mass.) halved the lead with a pinch hit home run to right in the ninth. Mackor then singled and advanced third on a sacrifice hit and fly by Hubbard and Gambino. SHU's Isaac Pavlik made a phenomenal play to block Quirk's bullet up the middle for the third out and game victory.
Pavlik earned his fifth save of the season. Damon Ponce de Leon recorded the win surrendering 13 hits for four runs (three earned) through 7.1 innings. #####
