Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Clemson
Baseball Overpowers No. 20 Clemson, 13-1
March 27, 2009 | Baseball
March 27, 2009
Box Score
Box Score In PDF Format
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Junior Mike Belfiore led a barrage of Boston College home runs with two while driving in seven runs and senior JB MacDonald was nearly unhittable on the mound as the baseball team overwhelmed No. 20 Clemson, 13-1, Friday afternoon at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Shea Field.
Belfiore smashed a grand slam in the bottom of the first inning to dead center and added a three-run shot in the second for BC. Junior Tony Sanchez went 2-for-3 in the game with a homer, four RBI and three runs. Junior John Spatola added the other home run for the Eagles with a pinch hit solo shot in the eighth.
Junior Barry Butera picked up three hits in the game and classmate Robbie Anston went 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs.
MacDonald shut down the Clemson offense, throwing 8.0 innings and allowing one run - which came in the eighth - on five hits. He struck out four on the afternoon and retired 15 of 17 batters at one point in the game. MacDonald improved his ERA to 2.16 on the year and is now 3-2.
BC got going immediately and loaded the bases in the bottom of the first with one out thanks to some wild pitching that gave the Eagles a walk and a pair of hit batsmen. Belfiore then carried a 2-1 pitch over the 400-foot mark in dead center for a grand slam to give BC an early 4-0 lead.
The Eagles also posted four runs in the second and sixth innings. With one out in the second, Anston singled to left and sophomore Matt Hamlet walked to put two men on. Sanchez then pulled a sharp grounder past the diving third baseman that scored Anston from second to give BC a 5-0 lead.
A passed ball allowed both runners to move into scoring position with Belfiore up and the Tigers elected to pitch to him despite a 3-0 count. After the first strike was thrown by Chris Dwyer, Belfiore took an outside pitch the other way and hit a three-run bomb over the wall in right to put the Eagles up eight.
Sophomore Mike Sudol took the first pitch he saw in the sixth and snuck a hit inside the first base bag for a double. After the first out was recorded, Anston sent one up the middle for a single and an RBI to push the lead to 9-0. Hamlet singled through the left side to put two men on and then Sanchez blasted a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall to increase the cushion to 12 runs.
The Tigers finally broke through against MacDonald in the eighth inning. After MacDonald retired the first two, Ben Paulsen tripled down the line in right field and then Matt Sanders drove him home on the next pitch with a single to right.
Spatola capped off the scoring for the Eagles with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. He came in to pinch hit for Hamlet in the two-hole and delivered a solo home run, his first of the season and second of his career, over the wall in right.
BC (15-7, 5-3 ACC) will host a doubleheader with the Tigers (16-7, 5-5 ACC) on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. at Shea Field.
