Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Detroit Mercy
Baseball Topples Detroit-Mercy, 6-4
February 28, 2004 | Baseball
Feb. 28, 2004
Junior Drew Locke (Weymouth, Mass.) ripped a pair of doubles to lead the Boston College baseball team to a 6-4 victory over Detroit-Mercy, Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Homestead Challenge in Homestead, Fla.
The Eagles scored three runs on three hits in the second inning. Right fielder Mike Flynn (Trumbull, Conn.), designated hitter Sean McGill (South Kingstown, R.I.), and second baseman Josh DiScipio (Schenectady, N.Y.) each pushed across a run in that frame. Detroit waltzed back in its next at bat, capitalizing on a pair of two-out RBI singles from Todd Kalmbach and Dennis Czuchaj off BC starting pitcher Matt O'Donnell (Marlboro, Mass.).
The Titans locked the game at three in the bottom of the third when Jason Chapieski led off with a triple down the right field line and scored on Alex Martin's single to left center. The Eagle defense recovered and retired the next nine Titan batters in order, including four strikeouts by O'Donnell. BC tacked on another run in the top of the fourth inning. Sean McGill, who reached on the third baseman's fielding error, came home via a stolen base and two balks from Detroit-Mercy reliever Mike Czerwieniec.
Detroit didn't give up though and manufactured a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 4-4, thanks to J.D. Leichtman, whose hard-slapped ball at BC's Ryan Leahy (Salem, Mass.), brought home Nick Smith, who bunt-singled to lead off the inning and advanced on a stolen base and wild pitch.
Locke's first double of the night at the top of the seventh drove in a run, and the birthday boy scored on a poor throw by Detroit's third baseman after Jason Delaney's (Hanson, Mass.) first of two hits on the night, lifted the Eagles to a 6-4 advantage.
BC reliever Mike Gauthier (Salem, Mass.) got himself out of jam in the eighth inning after surrendering a single and walking his next batter to put a man in scoring position, Gauthier struck out the next two Titans and made pinch hitter Charlie Anderson line out to left field. In the ninth and final stanza, Gauthier struck out two and got the other to ground out to end the game and pick up his first save of the season. Matt O'Donnell earned his first win of the season; he allowed six hits in 7.0 innings of work and struck out 10.
BC travels to Florida International University, Sunday, Feb. 29. Game time is 1 p.m.
