Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Tulane
Baseball Opens 2010 With 8-5 Win At Tulane
February 19, 2010 | Baseball
Feb. 19, 2010
NEW ORLEANS - Junior Pat Dean worked 7.0 innings on the mound and sophomore Anthony Melchionda drove in a career-high four RBI to lead the Boston College baseball team to a season opening 8-5 win against Tulane at Turchin Stadium.
Dean allowed two runs on six hits, struck out eight and walked just one. He retired 12-straight batters between the second and fifth innings.
Melchionda had a 2-for-4 night with the first home run of his collegiate career. Senior captain John Spatola went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs and sophomore Brad Zapenas went 2-for-4 with a triple and a run scored.
BC wasted no time getting on the board with three runs in the top of the first. Anston led off with a double in the gap past the diving right fielder and then Hamlet moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt. After a strikeout, Melchionda fought back from a 1-2 count and drove a 3-2 offering well past the 400 mark in center.
On the next pitch, Spatola hammered Conrad Flynn's offering to the exact same spot to make it 3-0 Eagles.
The Wave threatened to score in the bottom of the second but came up empty. Gunner Wright led off with a double down the line in right. After Dean got a strikeout, a passed ball moved Wright to third base. Dean got out of the jam though with another strikeout and a fly out.
Tulane finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to 3-2. Brennan Middleton led off with a double down the line in left and then Brandon Boudreaux singled on the next pitch to drive him in. Blake Crohan singled to put runners on first and second, but Dean forced Rob Segedin to ground into a 5-3 double play.
Jeremy Schaffer then sent a 1-2 pitch back up the middle to drive Crohan in.
The Eagles responded with a run in the top of the seventh to push the lead to 4-2. Spatola led off and ripped a single back up the middle and sophomore Andrew Lawrence moved him into scoring position with a sac bunt. Tulane elected to intentionally walk junior Garret Smith to set up the force out and after a pitching change, the Eagles pulled off a double steal to put both runners in scoring position. Drew Zizinia balked on his next offering to plate Lawrence.
BC tacked on two more runs, both unearned, in the top of the eighth to cushion the lead to 6-2. Junior Matt Hamlet singled with one out and then classmate Mickey Wiswall chopped a grounder to the right side. The first baseman's throw to second went into the outfield and both runners advanced into scoring position.
Melchionda then sent an 0-1 offering up the middle for two more insurance runs to increase the lead to four.
The Green Wave posted another threat in the bottom of the eighth but BC came away unscathed. Rob Segedin beat out a throw from the hole on the left side of the infield with two outs and then Schaffer roped a liner to first that couldn't be handled to put runners on first and second. Sophomore Matt Brazis got out of the jam by striking out Wright to end the inning.
BC posted two more runs in the top of the ninth to take an 8-2 lead. Zapenas hustled out a leadoff triple to the gap in right-center and after the first out was recorded, Hamlet walked to put runners on the corners. Wiswall then pulled a single through the right side to make it 7-2.
Wiswall then made a heads-up play to add the eighth run. The catcher snagged a foul out behind the plate and then Wiswall tagged up from second base. The catcher threw to second and Wiswall got caught in a rundown long enough for Hamlet to score.
Tulane put up a fight in the ninth and scored three more runs before the game ended. Garrett Cannizaro walked to leadoff the inning and Cody Robinson lined a homer over the fence in left to make it 8-4. Matt Ryan reached on an infield single and after junior Kevin Moran retired the first batter he faced, Ryan reached second on an errant pickoff throw.
He then reached third on a wild pitch, but Moran retired the final two batters to end the game.
Schaffer and Ryan both went 2-for-4 for the Green Wave. Flynn tossed 6.0 innings and allowed four runs on five hits. He struck out nine and walked one.
It was the first time Tulane had lost in a home opener since 1990.
The two teams will face each other again on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
