Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Vanderbilt
Baseball Drops Season Opener To No. 16 Vanderbilt, 6-5
February 25, 2005 | Baseball
Feb. 25, 2005
The Boston College baseball team dropped its season opener to No. 16 Vanderbilt on Friday afternoon, 6-5, losing its first game in the Music City Classic in Nashville, Tenn.
Trailing by three in the top frame of the ninth inning, BC staged a valiant rally against Vanderbilt relief pitcher Michael Wagner, who relieved starter Ryan Mullins in the top of the seventh. Wagner retired his first seven batters before the Eagles made some noise in the ninth.
BC junior Shawn McGill walked with one out, and pinch hitter Ryne Reynoso was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Senior shortstop Marco Albano hit into a fielder's choice and Reynoso was forced at second base, leaving men on first and third with two out.
Senior co-captain Dave Preziosi proceeded to tally his first hit of the season with a single up the middle, knocking in McGill and making the score 6-4. Junior Robert Dittrich continued the inning with a single up the middle, and scored Albano to bring the Eagles within one run. The rally fell just short, however, as Ryan Hutchinson, who had three hits in his Boston College debut, couldn't extend the game and popped up to Vanderbilt first baseman Mike Baxter.
The Eagles (0-1) fell behind in the top of the first as starter Mike Wlodarczyk struggled with his control and surrendered an early run. BC answered back in the top of the second when Albano doubled to left field to bring in third baseman Jared Mcguire, who had singled and stolen second to start the inning. Albano went 2-for-4 on the day with two runs scored and an RBI.
The score remained knotted at one until the bottom of the fourth, when the Commodores (4-0) touched up Wlodarczyk for two more runs. The Eagles again answered in the top half of the fifth, scoring two runs to tie the game, 3-3, as Preziosi and Hutchinson collected their first RBI's of the season.
Vanderbilt scored two more in the bottom of the inning and another run in the sixth to take a 6-3 lead and chase Wlodarczyk. The lefthander surrendered nine hits and six runs, five of them earned, in six innings of work.
Junior Kevin Boggan worked the seventh and eighth innings for BC, registering four strikeouts and surrendering just one hit.
The Eagles will play a doubleheader at Belmont tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m.
