Boston College Athletics
This Week In Eagle Baseball
April 08, 2003 | Baseball
April 8, 2003
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The baseball team will try to sneak in a couple games this week before heading off to Blacksburg, Va., for a big three-game set with the Virginia Tech Hokies.
The Eagles have games scheduled for Wednesday, April 9 against Northeastern at the Huskies' Friedman Diamond and Thursday, April 10 versus Quinnipiac at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton. Both contests get underway at 3 p.m. The Eagles and Hokies have a noon doubleheader Saturday, April 10, then get together for a single game the following day at noon.
With the recent snowfall and forecast of rain the next couple days, the Northeastern and Quinnipiac games are subject to change. Check back at BCEagles.com for updates.
The Huskies' bats are led by freshman outfielder Chris Emanuele, who's hitting .359 (14-for-39) with six runs batted in and eight runs scored. Justin Hedrick has been their top pitcher in the early going, as he sports a 2-0 record and a 1.76 earned run average in 15.1 innings.
Boston College and Northeastern (4-7) share a couple common opponents this season: Indiana and Holy Cross. BC beat Holy Cross twice and lost a one-run game to Indiana while the Huskies beat the Hoosiers, 3-2, and lost to the Crusaders, 6-4.
Senior infielder Charles D'Elia spearheads the attack for Quinnipiac (7-12) as he is hitting .356 (26-for-73) with two home runs and 15 RBIs. Junior outfielder Albert Marano has scored 16 runs for the Bobcats. Junior lefthander Buddy Bengel is their top starter, going 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in seven appearances.
The Hokies (20-8, 6-1 BIG EAST) are one of the hottest teams in the conference, having won their last seven games. They sit in second place in the league standings, a half game behind Notre Dame.
Senior infielder Marc Tugwell is fourth in the BIG EAST in batting average (.412), third in runs scored (30) and tied for fifth in RBIs (28). Sophomore infielder Chris Stanton is right behind Tugwell as he is ranked fifth in the conference in hitting (.406 BA) while having the second-most runs scored (31) in the BIG EAST. Redshirt freshman lefty Ryan Kennedy owns the lowest ERA (1.72) and second-lowest opponents batting average (.195) in the conference.
LAST WEEK'S RESULT'S
Boston College 4, Central Connecticut State 1
Villanova 3, Boston College 1
Boston College 6, Villanova 4
NOTES
MORGIE HEATIN' UP
Sophomore Ryan Morgan has been on a tear the last two weeks. In his last eight games, dating back to a March 22 contest versus Miami, Morgan is hitting .517 (15-for-29) with seven runs scored and six runs batted in. Over that time, he is slugging .724 and has a .517 OBP. Having hit safely in all eight games, Morgan has raised his average from .246 to .337. He has also been flawless both in the field, handling all 72 chances without an error, and on the mound, giving up no runs and two hits in five innings while striking our eight and walking none in earning three saves. His six total saves are tied for third most in the BIG EAST.
SHEPARD IN CONTROL
Ever since his March 6 start against Valparaiso, in which he walked seven batters, threw a wild pitch and made an errant pickoff throw, sophomore Kevin Shepard has exhibited superb control. In his last 17 innings, Shepard has walked just one batter and thrown zero wild pitches. He is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his last three appearances. His 2.36 ERA is fourth best in the BIG EAST while his .217 opponents batting average ranks sixth in the conference.
PITCHING IN
The Eagles have gone 6-1 in their last seven games, and a big reason for that is the remarkable performance of their pitchers. Over that span, the staff ERA is 1.98, and opponents are hitting just .187.
CHECKING THE CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Notre Dame is in first with a 7-1 BIG EAST mark, followed by Virginia Tech (6-1), Connecticut (6-3), Rutgers (4-2), Boston College (3-2) and West Virginia (3-2).
