Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Tennessee Tech
Baseball Closes Weekend With 6-1 Win Against Tennessee Tech
February 20, 2011 | Baseball
Feb. 20, 2011
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Senior John Leonard tossed 5.0 shutout innings and allowed just two hits as the Boston College baseball team defeated Tennessee Tech, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at BB&T Coastal Field.
Leonard struck out five and walked just one in his first outing of the season. Four different relievers combined to finish the game, allowing one run on three hits. Tennessee Tech had the bases loaded with one out twice in the game but came away empty both times.
Sophomore Matt McGovern went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored while junior Brad Zapenas hit a two-run double and scored twice. He also drew a pair of walks. Sophomore Matt Watson added a two-run single.
Tennessee Tech had the first scoring chance of the game in the top of the second when they loaded the bases with one out, but Leonard got Evan Frazier to look at strike three then retired Chad Hayes with a soft chopper to second.
BC responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. The Eagles led off with consecutive singles by junior Andrew Lawrence and McGovern. Senior Matt Hamlet then roped a single to left but Lawrence was thrown out at the plate on a bang-bang play. After a strikeout, Zapenas walked to load the bases and Watson found the hole on the left side for a two-run base hit.
The Golden Eagles (0-3) loaded the bases with one out again in the top of the sixth thanks to a pair of walks and a hit batsman but came up empty. Senior Dane Clemens came in from the pen and fanned Zach Stephens and got Casanova Donaldson to fly out to center to leave three more men stranded.
TTU finally converted on an opportunity in the seventh. Frazier was hit by a breaking ball with one out and a hit and run moved up the pinch runner, Zach Flynn, to scoring position with two outs. Austin Wulf hit a 3-1 pitch back up the middle for an RBI single to cut the BC lead in half.
BC got that run back in the bottom half of the seventh to retake the two-run edge. A pair of infield errors to start the inning put runners on first and second and senior Mike Sudol made it hurt with an RBI single to left.
The Eagles added three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach. McGovern and Hamlet started the frame with a couple of walks and freshman Tom Bourdon moved them into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Zapenas brought them home with a double that dropped in right-center to push the lead to 5-1. Junior Anthony Melchionda drove him in with a single to make it a five run lead.
Boston College (2-1) has a few days off before heading to Gainesville to take on No. 1 Florida Thursday at 7 p.m.
