Boston College Athletics
Baseball Travels To No. 10 Clemson For Weekend Series
April 01, 2010 | Baseball
April 1, 2010
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The Boston College baseball team goes back on the road to face No. 10 Clemson in a three-game ACC series this weekend in South Carolina.
Friday's and Saturday's games are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. while Sunday's finale is slated for 12:05 p.m.
BC has won four of its last five games while the Tigers have lost five of their last six. Four of those games have been decided by one or two runs with a pair of them going into extra innings.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH UPS (BC listed first)
Friday: RHP Mike Dennhardt (1-4, 8.04) vs. LHP Casey Harman (4-0, 2.25)
Saturday: LHP Pat Dean (4-0, 2.37) vs. LHP Will Lamb (3-0, 1.88)
Sunday: RHP Taylor Lasko (1-0, 3.06) vs. RHP Scott Weismann (3-1, 3.15)
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Friday: A mainly sunny sky. Near record high temperatures. High 86F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the upper 50s.
Sunday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the low 50s.
EAGLES BACK ON THE ROAD AT NO. 10 CLEMSON
• The Boston College baseball team faces No. 10 Clemson for a three-game ACC series this weekend in South Carolina.
• Friday's and Saturday's games are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with Sunday's finale slated for 12:05 p.m.
• Clemson took two of three last year in Chestnut Hill. BC won easily in the opener, 13-1, before dropping close 7-6 and 5-3 decisions.
• Senior Robbie Anston was 6-for-10 in the series and sophomore Mike Dennhardt had a strong start in the finale, pitching 5.0 innings and allowing one run.
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY
• The weather in New England has been wreaking havoc on the Eagles' recent schedule.
• Five of BC's last seven games have been affected by the wet weather.
• Boston College's March 23 game vs. Hartford was postponed and its March 24 game vs Holy Cross was moved back a day.
• Rain postponed the ACC home opener vs. Duke and the teams had to play a doubleheader last Saturday.
• Both non-conference games this week were postponed, but BC was able to make up its game at Northeastern Wednesday after the game at Rhode Island was PPD due to flooding in the area.
RPI & SOS
• Despite the Eagles' 11-13 record, they sport an RPI of 43 and a strength of schedule ranking of 20.
• Their RPI is the seventh-best in the ACC and their SoS is the tops in the conference.
• Seventeen of BC's 24 games this season have been vs. teams with an RPI in the top 100.
SPEEDY SUNDAY
• Boston College's series finale at Duke last Sunday was a short affair - it lasted just 1:59.
• Junior LHP Pat Dean and Duke's Dennis O'Grady both threw complete games in a 2-1 BC win.
• Dean started the game by pitching 3.1 innings of perfect baseball. Duke got its lone run in the fourth inning when it pieced together three singles.
• Dean then went on to retire 10-straight hitters from the fifth to eighth innings.
• The Naugatuck, Conn. native only needed 92 pitches in his 9.0 innings of work and 64 of them were strikes. He scattered six hits and struck out two while not issuing a walk. Only one runner outside of the fourth inning reached scoring position.
• O'Grady was equal to the task as he allowed two runs in the fourth inning and put up zeros in every other frame. He allowed eight hits and struck out six without giving up a walk.
• Neither pitcher allowed an extra base hit.
ROTATING ROTATION
• Boston College has tried out a variety of starting rotations on the weekends.
• Junior LHP Pat Dean is the established No. 1 starter, but he missed his start at Virginia and worked as the No. 3 last weekend vs. Duke. He is scheduled to start Saturday night this weekend.
• Sophomore RHP Mike Dennhardt is the only pitcher to stay in the starting rotation all six weekends. He has been the Saturday starter four times.
• The third spot in the rotation has seen three different pitchers so far and sophomore RHP Taylor Lasko got the start last weekend vs. Duke and pitched well enough to stay.
• Junior RHP Kevin Moran stepped into a starting role after starting the season in the bullpen. He started games at Florida Atlantic, Miami and Virginia.
• Freshman RHP Andrew Del Colle earned a spot in the starting rotation for the first two weekends at Tulane and Auburn.
• Freshman RHP Hunter Gordon, who has solid out of the bullpen, also got a start when Dean was hurt at Virginia.
DEAN AND THE 'CANES
• Junior LHP Pat Dean has performed his best when facing the Miami Hurricanes.
• In a 3-0 win on March 12, he tossed 8.0 shutout innings against the No. 13 `Canes at Alex Rodriguez Park.
• Miami entered the night averaging 9.9 runs a game.
• In his last three outings against the `Canes, he is 3-0 with a 0.41 ERA - allowing one run in 22.0 innings - and has struck out 21 while walking two.
LEADING OFF
• Senior CF Robbie Anston emerged as one of the top leadoff hitters in the ACC last year and he has taken it even further this season.
• He shares the conference lead in doubles (10), is third in triples (4), 10th in stolen bases (8), 16th in hits (35) and 18th in batting average (.357).
• When Anston leads off an inning, he is batting .405 (17-for-42) and he has scored eight times in the first inning.
• Anston has a hit in 28 of his last 32 games.
THE TRAVELS OF A NEW ENGLAND TEAM
• BC traveled nearly 10,000 miles before its first home game on March 25. In fact, approximate numbers by Google Maps puts the number at 9,999 miles.
• Boston College opened the season with a series win at Tulane in New Orleans, La.
• The Eagles then went to Auburn for three games vs. the Tigers, Florida Atlantic and Missouri.
• BC went back to campus on Sunday from Auburn before leaving for Fort Myers on March 2 to play the Red Sox.
• The Eagles spent 13 days in Florida with a series at both Florida Atlantic and Florida International before they opened ACC play on March 12 at Miami.
• BC took bus trips to UConn and Bryant on March 16 and 17, respectively, before traveling to Virginia March 19.
JOHNNY ON THE SPAT
• Senior OF John Spatola has had a big bat this season and he had a monster game against Missouri on February 28.
• The former walk-on smashed two three-run homers and added a double in a 3-for-4 effort.
• Spatola drove in a career-high seven runs, which was more runs than the Tigers had as a team in a 14-6 win.
• It was Spatola's first multi-homer game of his career.
• The Milton, Mass. is third in the ACC in home runs (7) and 18th in slugging percentage (.602).
HAMLET'S MASTERPIECE
• Junior INF Matt Hamlet is not only exceptional in the field, he is also stepping it up at the plate.
• Hamlet had not committed an error in 65 games until he made one March 13 at Miami. He has now made one in his last 77 games.
• Since last season, Hamlet has made one error while recording 36 putouts and 64 assists. His fielding percentage during that time is .990.
• He was one of four players in the ACC last year to not commit an error despite playing both infield and outfield.
• The Chesapeake, Va. native is also batting .294 with four doubles, three homers and 17 RBI.
• Hamlet has recorded three hits in two of the last three games.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
• Junior C/INF Garret Smith started at shortstop in high school and was the starting shortstop last year for BC, but now he is the starting catcher.
• Smith had never caught a game in his life entering the season.
• His defense is needed to replace the loss of All-American Tony Sanchez and his experienced bat is needed as well.
• He is a career .273 hitter and has started 98 games since he arrived on campus in 2008.
WATTY START
• Freshman C/DH Matt Watson has had a solid start to his collegiate career as the DH.
• The Portland, Maine product is second on the team in doubles (6) and batting average (.333) and third in home runs (3) and RBI (19).
• He also produced in clutch situations as he hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh on March 10 to tie the game at FIU, 14-14. BC had been down 14-6 after five innings.
• Watson also drove in all three runs with a pair of doubles in Boston College's 3-0 win at Miami March 12.
• He drove in three runs in the top of the ninth inning March 20 at No. 1 Virginia in a valiant comeback attempt by BC. Down 4-0 and with the bases loaded with one out, Watston hit a bases-clearing double to pull the Eagles within a run, but he was stranded in scoring position.
• Watson was also credited with the game-winning hit in BC's 7-4 win against Holy Cross. He hit an RBI single in the Eagles' six-run fifth inning to put BC on top 5-4.
• He also had the game-tying hit in the bottom of the fourth last Sunday vs. Duke in a narrow 2-1 win.
MELCH MAKES AN IMPACT
• Sophomore INF Anthony Melchionda, who saw limited time last year as the backup third baseman, has started all 24 games in the infield (14 at first base).
• He is also the clean-up hitter and has produced in that spot.
• Melchionda is fourth on the team in RBI (18) and fifth in homers (2).
• Melchionda had five RBI in his first six at-bats to start the season and he has a hit in 18 of the 24 games.
FRESH PEN
• BC has used a pair of freshman out of the bullpen this season.
• RHP Hunter Gordon and RHP Jay Jeannotte have both been used by head coach Mik Aoki.
• Gordon is sporting the best ERA on the team when he comes out of the bullpen. He has a 2.70 ERA in nine appearances, allowing five earned runs in 16.2 innings of work.
• He is tied for the most appearances out of the bullpen with nine.
• Jeannotte has made six appearances for BC and has thrown 6.0 innings while allowing three runs on five hits.
RBI MACHINE
• Junior INF Mickey Wiswall has produced from the No. 3 spot in the batting order.
• He ranks 11th in the ACC in RBI (27) and has six multi-RBI games this year.
• The Stonehman, Mass. product ranks second on the team in home runs (5) and doubles (6) and is third in runs (19).
• Wiswall drove in 21 runs in the first 11 games of the season.
WISWALL NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
• Junior INF Mickey Wiswall was named to the Baseball America Preseason All-America Second Team.
• A product of nearby Stoneham, Wiswall was an All-ACC Second Team and All-Northeast Region Second Team selection last year.
• He was also named to the Austin Regional and ACC All-Tournament teams. He was one of two players to start all 60 games last season and he has started 107 games in his two years at BC.
• Wiswall led one of the best offenses BC had ever seen in 2009 with 14 home runs, 63 RBI and 141 total bases. His RBI and hit (82) totals rank second in a season in program history and his 14 home runs rank third.
• Wiswall was also second on the team in slugging (.551) and fourth in batting average (.320). He ranked seventh in the ACC in RBI, ninth in homers, 12th in total bases and 15th in hits.
EARLY BIRDS
• The Eagles have made a habit of getting ahead early in the ball game.
• BC scored first in 41 of its 60 games and scored in the first inning 26 times last season.
• Boston College is doing much of the same this season. It has scored first in 15 of the 24 games this season.
• Senior CF Robbie Anston has scored in the first inning eight times.
DEAN IS DOMINANT
• Junior LHP Pat Dean earned a spot on the weekend rotation on April 12 of last season and hasn't looked back since.
• Thirteen of his last 19 outings on the mound have been quality starts.
• The Naugatuck, Conn. native is the workhorse of the team with 38.0 innings pitched, which ranks eighth in the ACC. He has thrown 7.0 or more innings in each of his five starts this year and has tossed over 100 pitches four times.
• He is currently 4-0 with a 2.37 ERA with 27 strikeouts and six walks.
• Dean ranks leads the ACC in wins, is third in walks allowed, 10th in ERA and16th in opposing batting average (.246).
POWER SURGE
• Boston College hit 58 home runs last year - the most since 2000 when it also had 58.
• It also had three players with 10 or more home runs in Mike Belfiore (11), Tony Sanchez (14) and Mickey Wiswall (14).
• The Eagles' three players with double-digit homers was the most in program history.
• BC did not have a player with 10 or more homers since 2002.
• Boston College hit 24 round-trippers in 22 games at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field last year. In all of 2008, the Eagles hit just eight out of Shea Field in 21 games.
• The Eagles are back at it again this season as they have hit 23 home runs in 24 games.
• Senior OF John Spatola leads the team with seven blasts, with two of them coming February 28 against Missouri.
• Junior INF Mickey Wiswall is second on the team with five round-trippers while junior Matt Hamlet and freshman Matt Watson both have three. Sophomores Marc Perdios and Anthony Melchionda and freshman Matt Watson each have two.
• BC has six games with multiple homers.
CLUTCH HITTING
• BC had 142 RBI with two outs last season and Mike Belfiore led the team with 33.
• Junior INF Mickey Wiswall was second on the team with 22 two-out RBI and Tony Sanchez had 15.
• A total of 37 percent of the RBI that BC has recorded came with two outs.
• BC has 63 two-out RBI so far this season. Junior INF Mickey Wiswall leads the way with 13, freshman C/DH Matt Watson has 12 and senior OF John Spatola has 10.
• In the Eagles' 11-5 win at FIU on March 9, all of the runs crossed the plate with two outs.
• Nearly 50 percent of the runs this season have been scored with two outs.
SMALL BALL
• BC forced the action last season with sacrifices and stolen bases and has been doing it again this year.
• The Eagles had 73 sacrifice hits in 2009 which led the ACC and was fourth in the nation.
• Miami was second in the conference in the category with 45.
• Twelve different players successfully moved runners along.
• The Eagles were also 41-for-72 when attempting to steal last season.
• Senior CF Robbie Anston led the team with 15 stolen bases on 18 attempts.
• A total of 11 players stole at least one base.
• This season, BC ranks third in the conference with 21 sacrifices. Junior Matt Hamlet leads the ACC with eight sacs this season.
EAGLES FALL TO RED SOX IN EXHIBITION
• The Boston Red Sox defeated Boston College, 6-1, in an exhibition game March 3 in front of 4,577 fans at City of Palms Park.
• Sophomore OF Spenser Payne drove in the only run for BC in the fifth inning. Senior OF Mike Sudol and freshman INF Philip Miclat had the other hits for the Eagles.
• Sophomore Taylor Lasko pitched a perfect fifth inning on the mound and had a strikeout. Senior Chris Kowalski was the only other pitcher to not allow a run in his inning of work.
• Both starters figured in the decision despite pitching just the first inning. Boof Bonser picked up the win after a perfect first and senior Geoff Oxley was saddled with the loss after surrendering a run in the bottom half of the frame.
EAGLES TAKE SERIES AT TULANE
• Boston College traveled to New Orleans to start the year and took two of three from the Green Wave at Turchin Stadium.
• The Eagles won the first two games by a combined 20-5. Their starting pitching was dominant in those contests, throwing 14.0 innings and allowing two runs on eight hits.
• The offense was spurred by senior CF Robbie Anston and sophomore INF Anthony Melchionda. Anston hit .429 with four runs, four RBI and a .714 slugging percentage. Melchionda batted .400 with a homer and seven RBI.
• Senior OF John Spatola hit a pair of solo home runs as well.
EAGLES PICKED THIRD IN ATLANTIC
• The Boston College baseball team was picked to finish third in the ACC Atlantic Division in a preseason vote of the conference's 12 head coaches.
• The Eagles' third-place pick was the highest they have been voted in the ACC preseason poll since their first season in the league in 2006.
• BC was picked to finish fifth in each of the last three seasons.
• Florida State garnered 10 first-place votes in the Atlantic and is the coaches' pick to win the division. Clemson earned two first-place votes and finished in second. NC State, Wake Forest and Maryland were fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
• Defending ACC champion Virginia is the coaches' selection to win the Coastal Division and become the overall champion. It earned 11 first-place votes to win the division and eight to win the ACC.
• Florida State received three votes to win the ACC and North Carolina had the other vote.
MORAN NAMED TO STOPPER WATCH LIST
• Junior RHP Kevin Moran was named to the initial watch list for the sixth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in the nation.
• Moran, a product of Yarmouthport, Mass., made 26 appearances out of the bullpen in 2009 and emerged as the go-to reliever for BC.
• The fiery righty finished 2009 with a 5-2 record and a 2.75 ERA in 52.1 innings of work.
• Moran was moved to the starter role with BC's early pitching struggles. In his three starts, he was 0-3 with a 16.03 ERA.
THE 30-WIN MARK
• The Eagles reached the 30-win mark last season for the first time since 2005 and it was the sixth time they reached that number in program history.
• The Eagles' 34 wins in 2009 was the third-most in program history.
2009 AT A GLANCE
• Boston College had a number of firsts and bests during the 2009 season.
• The Eagles advanced to their first NCAA postseason since 1967 - a total of 42 years.
• They advanced to their first ACC Championship where they went 2-1 to earn a berth into the Austin Regional.
• Junior C Tony Sanchez was the first All-America first team honoree in school history when Baseball America put him on that list. He was also the first All-ACC first teamer BC has had.
• Sanchez was drafted with the No. 4 overall pick in the MLB First-Year Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was the highest any BC player has been drafted in baseball and only football's Matt Ryan (No. 3) has been drafted higher in any other sport.
• Senior CF Robbie Anston broke the single-season hits record and junior INF Mickey Wiswall tied the previous mark. Anston finished with 85 and Wiswall had 82. The previous record was Jared McGuire's 82 hits in 2007.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
• The Eagles had to replace a few very important pieces that left early for the MLB Draft.
• C Tony Sanchez was drafted fourth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates - the highest anyone from BC has been drafted.
• Nobody on the Boston College roster had seen time in a game behind the plate going into the season, but junior C/INF Garret Smith has taken over behind the plate. Freshmen Anthony Italiano and Matt Watson have also earned starts behind the dish.
• LHP/1B Mike Belfiore was drafted by Arizona in Comp Round A (45th overall). He was BC's closer (nine saves) and was an important piece to the lineup (.273, 11 HR, 62 RBI).
• Sophomore RHP Matt Brazis has taken over the closer role and sophomore Anthony Melchionda has performed well at first base.
• Barry Butera, who spent time in RF and in the infield, was drafted in the 21st round by Houston.
• Senior captain John Spatola made the move from first base to right field.
CAPE LEAGUE ALL-STARS
• A pair of BC baseball players earned Cape Cod Baseball League all-star accolades last year.
• Junior RHP John Leonard and junior INF Mickey Wiswall both played in the all-star game at Fenway Park. They both played for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.
• Leonard went 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 10 appearances (six starts) on the mound. He threw 35.0 innings and allowed 15 runs (10 earned) on 33 hits. He struck out 26 and walked 10.
• Wiswall batted .302 over the summer with eight doubles, five home runs and 30 RBI and was named the league's New England Player of the Year.
• The pair helped lead Y-D to the Eastern Division title with a 28-15-1 record.
SUMMER ALL-STARS
• Four other players earned all-star accolades in their respective summer leagues last year.
• Senior RHP Chris Kowalski was named to the Eastern All-Star Team in the New England Collegiate Baseball League as the team's closer.
• Junior INF Matt Hamlet was named the starting second baseman for the National All-Stars in the Coastal Plains League and served as the team's leadoff hitter.
• Finally, sophomore RHP Matt Brazis and sophomore INF Anthony Melchionda were both all-stars in the Valley Baseball League.
HARD TO REPLACE
• BC lost two of its most productive hitters from last season to the draft in Mike Belfiore and Tony Sanchez.
• Belfiore smacked 11 home runs and drove in 62 which ranked third and second on the team, respectively, in 2009. Sanchez belted 14 homers and 63 runs and was third with 51 RBI.
• The Eagles returned junior INF Mickey Wiswall who batted .320 and also had 14 homers and 63 RBI. He is batting .267 with five doubles, six homers and has 27 RBI in the three-hole.
• Sophomore INF Anthony Melchionda has done his part, batting .319 with two round-trippers and 18 RBI.
• Senior captain John Spatola is hitting .330 with seven home runs and 22 RBI. He is slugging at a .602 clip.
2010 CAPTAINS
• The Boston College baseball team voted seniors Robbie Anston, Chris Kowalski and John Spatola as captains for the 2010 season.
• Anston, a center fielder from Odessa, Fla., emerged as one of the best leadoff hitters in the ACC last season. Anston batted .471 (57-for-121) when he led off an inning and his 85 hits established a new Boston College single season record. He also scored 55 times which is the fourth most in a season at BC. Anston finished the 2009 season ranked fourth in the ACC in doubles (22), 10th in steals (15), 12th in hits and 20th in on-base percentage (.436) and runs.
• Kowalski, a local product from Boston, became one of the most reliable arms in the bullpen last year and had a 4-1 record with a 5.10 ERA. He appeared in 28 games which were the second most on the team. He threw 30.0 innings and allowed 17 earned runs on 29 hits.
• Spatola, a utility player from nearby Milton, appeared in 42 games last year and batted .327 with four homers and 12 RBI. The former walk-on's best moment in a BC uniform came in the opening game of the Austin Regional against Texas State. With two men on and the Eagles losing 5-3 in the top of the ninth, Spatola roped a 1-1 offering over the fence in right to give BC the lead in an 8-7 win.
THE LONGEST GAME
• BC made history when it played the No. 1 national seed Texas in the second game of the Austin Regional at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
• The two teams battled for 25 innings before Texas finally scored in the top of the inning to win, 3-2. It was the longest game in NCAA history.
• Below are a few highlights from the historic evening:
- Both teams received a standing ovation at the conclusion of the game
- It was 96 degrees at first pitch at 6:02 p.m. The game finished at 78 degrees at 1:05 a.m.
- Texas introduced the 21st inning stretch
- There were 683 pitches thrown in the game
- Texas stranded 24 men on base
- There were 11 walks in the game compared to 42 strikeouts
- The 10 p.m. ET game at UC Irvine game started and finished
- BC and Texas combined to set NCAA records with 42 strikeouts, 222 total chances, 69 assists, 192 plate appearances and 171 at-bats.
