Boston College Athletics
Baseball Opens Series At No. 1 Florida Thursday
February 23, 2011 | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2011
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The Boston College baseball team has a busy weekend ahead as it faces No. 1 Florida for a three-game series beginning Thursday at 5 p.m. at McKethan Stadium at Perry Field.
The series continues Friday at 5 p.m. before wrapping up Sunday at 1 p.m. The Eagles will travel to Fort Myers on Saturday for their annual exhibition with the Boston Red Sox at City of Palms Park. That game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
This marks the first time in history that BC and Florida will meet on the baseball diamond. The Eagles are 2-1 after the opening weekend while the Gators (4-0) swept USF at home and defeated Florida Atlantic Tuesday.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH UPS (BC listed first)
Thursday: RHP Mike Dennhardt (0-0, 6.75) vs. LHP Brian Johnson (1-0, 0.00)
Friday: TBA vs. RHP Hudson Randall (1-0, 1.50)
Sunday: RHP Mike Dennhardt (0-0, 6.75) vs. RHP Karsten Whitson (1-0, 0.00)
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 80s.
Friday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 80s.
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 80s.
WAYS TO FOLLOW
Boston College Twitter: BCSportsNews
GatorVision - (Friday and Sunday).
BC TRAVELS TO GAINESVILLE FOR THREE-GAME SET
• The Boston College baseball team heads to Gainesville this weekend for a three-game series at No. 1 Florida beginning Thursday at 5 p.m.
• This marks the first time that BC and Florida will meet on the diamond.
• The series continues Friday with another game at 5 p.m. and wraps up Sunday at 1 p.m.
• The Eagles make the trip to Fort Myers on Saturday for their annual exhibition game with the Boston Red Sox.
EAGLES OFF TO GOOD START
• Boston College opened its season with a 2-1 record at the Carevelle Resort Tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina.
• The Eagles were three outs away from beating the No. 18 Chanticleers, but allowed four runs in the bottom of the ninth - including a three-run walk-off homer - to let it slip away, 9-6.
• BC responded nicely with a pair of 6-1 wins against Indiana and Tennessee Tech.
• Freshman OF Tom Bourdon led the everyday starters by going 3-for-9 with a pair of doubles and an RBI.
• Senior LHP Nate Bayuk and senior RHP John Leonard started the Indiana and Tennessee Tech games, respectively, and came away with wins after pitching 5.0 innings.
• Bayuk allowed a run on five hits while Leonard shut out the Golden Eagles and surrendered two hits.
ONE OF THE BEST IN THE FIELD
• Boston College doesn't give up many runs in the field as it led the ACC and finished third in the country with a .979 fielding percentage in 2010. Only No. 6 Texas and Creighton were better with .980 fielding percentages.
• The Eagles also turned 65 double plays which led the ACC and ranked 15th in the country.
• BC made one error last weekend in Myrtle Beach and it came on a miscommunication on an infield pop up.
• The Eagles sport a .991 fielding percentage after the first three games.
THE TRAVELS OF A NEW ENGLAND TEAM
• BC will travel nearly 10,240 miles before playing its first home game on March 25.
• Boston College opened the season at the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C. last weekend.
• Sandwiched in between the series with the No. 1 Florida Gators is the annual exhibition with the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers February 26.
• The Eagles return to campus again before heading to Daytona Beach for their spring break trip. They will play in Daytona Beach and Orlando before packing up for the opening ACC series at No. 8 Florida State.
• Following that series is a non-conference game at Bryant in Smithfield, R.I. and then another away weekend at Maryland.
• BC then makes the short trip to Holy Cross in Worcester before hosting Virginia Tech March 25.
A NEW DIRECTION
• The maroon and gold is led by new head coach Mike Gambino, a 2000 graduate of Boston College.
• Gambino came from Virginia Tech where he was the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator under former Eagles head coach Pete Hughes.
• With Gambino's help, the 2010 Hokies made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2000 and finished the season ranked No. 20 in the country.
• Gambino and the rest of the Hokies' coaching staff produced 14 draft picks from 2007-10 and had a program record eight players selected in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. Virginia Tech had just seven players drafted from 2000-06 before Gambino's arrival.
POWER NUMBERS
• The Eagles went deep a total of 70 times last season which was the second-most home runs in program history.
• BC surpassed the 2009 number of 58 round-trippers.
• The school record for home runs in a season is 77 set back in 1999.
• Sean McGowan, BC's all-time home run leader, had 25 that season.
• Mickey Wiswall led the team with 19 home runs and John Spatola had 17 blasts.
• Junior 3B Anthony Melchionda had seven long balls while sophomore C Matt Watson had seven homers and senior 1B/OF Mike Sudol had six.
• Boston College did not hit one out of the park last weekend but hit eight doubles instead which ranks third in the ACC.
CLUTCH HITTING
• BC had 152 RBI with two outs last season and John Spatola led the team with 28.
• A total of 43 percent of the RBI that BC recorded came with two outs.
• Junior 3B Anthony Melchionda led all returning players with 18 two-out RBI while C Matt Watson plated 17 runs in that situation.
• In the Eagles' 11-5 win at FIU on March 9, all of the runs crossed the plate with two outs.
• Last weekend, eight of the 18 RBI that BC recorded came with two outs.
LENNY
• The top two returning starter pitchers for the Eagles have plenty of experience, even if their numbers haven't been the best in the past.
• The duo did well in the Cape Cod Baseball League last summer as senior RHP John Leonard went 3-3 with a 1.96 ERA. He struck out 33 while walking 11 in 36.2 innings of work.
• Leonard has 25 career starts with a 8-8 record and a 6.44 ERA. He came back to the The Heights after being drafted in the 36th round by the San Francisco Giants.
• He impressed in a 6-1 win against Tennessee Tech on Sunday, throwing 5.0 shutout innings while allowing just two hits. He struck out five and walked one.
• Leonard got the win despite being on a pitch count of 65. He completed his outing having thrown 66 pitches.
AND DENNY
• Junior RHP Mike Dennhardt is 9-9 in 25 starts with a 6.28 ERA at BC.
• Dennhardt was 2-3 with a 1.80 ERA, fanning 38 and walking 12 in 45.0 innings in the Cape Cod League over the summer.
• He got the nod in the season opener at No. 18 Coastal Carolina and allowed four runs - three earned - in 4.0 innings of work. He gave up four hits and walked five while fanning two.
BAYUK MAKES TRANSITION
• Senior LHP Nate Bayuk became Boston College's top choice out of the bullpen the last two seasons, but now he is starting games.
• With the loss of junior RHP Taylor Lasko to Tommy John surgery, the Eagles needed a replacement for his spot.
• Bayuk has made 40 career appearances out of the bullpen and made his first start against Indiana February 19.
• Bayuk earned his first career win against the Hoosiers, allowing one run on five hits in 5.0 innings. He struck out four and walked one.
• He has a career 2.92 ERA in 24.1 innings of work.
• In 2009, he was used primary as a left-handed specialist. Last season, he was used more often before an injury cut his season short.
IN THE PEN
• BC returns three pitchers that made over 20 appearances, including senior RHP Dave Laufer, junior RHP Matt Brazis and sophomore RHP Hunter Gordon.
• Brazis is the team's closer and had nine saves a year ago which ranked third in the ACC. He finished the season with a 4.73 ERA after 32.1 innings of work.
• "Brazis will be our go-to guy," Gambino said. "It's just a matter of getting to him. If our staff doesn't do a good enough job to get it to him, we will go to him in the seventh. He has the stuff and the mentality to be one of the top closers in the ACC."
• The staff went to Brazis in the seventh with a 6-5 lead against No. 18 Coastal Carolina last Friday.
• Brazis rolled to the ninth but then surrendered the tying run. Two more men got on before he was relieved and the game ended when the next batter hit a walk-off homer.
• Laufer went 2-0 in 2010 in 22 games with a 6.66 ERA while Gordon was 1-3 in 24 showings with a 7.71 ERA.
• The coaching staff also has high hopes for junior RHP Kyle Prohovich, who appeared in nine games a year ago. He made two appearances last weekend and allowed one run on five hits in 3.2 innings.
CLEMENS & PROHOVICH
• The only relievers who made two appearances out of the bullpen last weekend were senior RHP Dane Clemens and junior RHP Kyle Prohovich.
• Clemens pitched a perfect inning of relief against Indiana on Saturday and allowed a run in 1.1 innings vs. Tennessee Tech Sunday.
• Clemens came on in a bases loaded jam in the sixth against the Golden Eagles with one out and left them loaded. He recorded a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat.
• Prohovich tossed a career-high 2.1 innings at No. 18 Coastal Carolina last Friday, allowing one run and striking out three. He also threw 1.1 against TTU and only surrendered one hit.
ZAPPED
• Head Coach Mike Gambino boasts that junior SS Brad Zapenas is one of the best defensive shortstops in the country.
• Zapenas has been the everyday starter at short since arriving on campus and has started 113 games.
• He made 11 errors as a freshman in 2009 but nearly cut that number in half last season, committing just six errors in 58 games.
• "Zapenas has to be in the conversation as one of the top defensive shortstops in the country," Gambino said prior to the season.
• He also hit .318 in 2010 with six doubles and 14 RBI.
• But he really heated up at the end of the season.
• He batted .417 in the last 14 games and had a hit in 15 of the last 17 outings.
• Zapenas' batting average jumped from .277 on April 27 to .318 at season's end.
• Zapenas was a Northwoods League all-star over the summer and was honored with the 2010 Rawlings Finest in the Field Award.
• So far this season, Zapenas was tagged with an error on a miscommunication on a pop up in the infield. He is batting .273 with two doubles and a team-leading four RBI.
MELCH PLAYS HIS BEST ON WEEKENDS
• Junior INF Anthony Melchionda sprayed the field with base hits on conference weekends last year.
• He batted .377 against the ACC which was second only to Mike Sudol's .386 (in 19 games). He also hit five doubles, three homers and drove in 17 runs. His on-base percentage of .442 was also the highest among the everyday starters.
• Melchionda led the team overall with a .358 batting average while knocking 12 doubles, seven homers and driving in 41 runs.
SMITH IS ULTIMATE UTILITY PLAYER
• Senior C/INF Garret Smith started at shortstop in high school and was the starting shortstop in 2009 for BC, but now he is the starting catcher.
• Smith had never caught a game in his life entering the 2010 season but offered to make the switch to the coaching staff to help replace the loss of All-American Tony Sanchez.
• He is a career .269 hitter and has started 134 games since he arrived on campus in 2008.
• He also pitched some relief for BC and is one of the best pure baseball players out there.
• "I think Garret Smith is going to have a big offensive year," Gambino said. "As far as pure baseball players, I will put him with anybody in the country. He can play anywhere on the field and legitimately play shortstop in the ACC as well as the other infield positions. He is one of the top catchers in the league and if he was a full-time pitcher, I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of the top bullpen guys in the ACC. That kid is unbelievable."
• Last weekend at Myrtle Beach, Smith was the starting catcher against No. 18 Coastal Carolina and the starting first baseman vs. Indiana and Tennessee Tech.
• He also pitched the ninth inning against the Golden Eagles and struck out two.
MY SACRIFICE
• Senior 2B Matt Hamlet enters the 2011 season as the reigning NCAA champion in sacrifice bunts.
• He and Florida Atlantic's Mike Albaladejo tied for the best in the country with 20 sacrifices.
• Don't expect that to happen again this season, though. With a new coaching staff comes a new philosophy on scoring runs.
• "The analogy I always use is that sacrifice bunting is like CPR if you're a lifeguard," Gambino said. "You need to be really, really good at it and hope you never use it. I don't want to give up outs. Outs are precious. They're hard to come by and when you are on defense they are hard to get so I don't want to give them up."
WHEN ALLOWING FIVE RUNS
• BC was 21-4 when allowing five runs or less during the 2010 season.
• All four of those losses came in ACC action with one coming against Virginia, Duke, Maryland and Virginia Tech.
• That is an improvement from the 2009 season when the Eagles were 21-12.
• With a pair of 6-1 wins vs. Indana and Tennessee Tech in Myrtle Beach, the Eagles are off to a 2-0 start this season when allowing five or less.
• They are 0-1 when allowing more with a 9-6 loss at No. 18 Coastal Carolina.
OFFENSIVE LOSS
• BC has some big shoes to fill offensively with the loss of three of its top hitters.
• Robbie Anston, John Spatola and Mickey Wiswall were all drafted and were an integral part of the lineup.
• Anston was the leadoff hitter and batted .324 with 21 doubles, six triples, five homers and 35 RBI. He scored 55 times and stole 18 bases.
• Spatola and Wiswall provided the bulk of the offense, combining to hit 23 doubles and 26 home runs while driving in a total of 122 runs. Spatola batted .316 while Wiswall finished at .301.
• Anston (26th round, Seattle) and Spatola (35th, Chicago White Sox) graduated while Wiswall (7th, Seattle) left BC early as a junior.
THE 30-WIN MARK
• Boston College has reached the 30-win mark in each of the last two seasons.
• The last time that happened was in 2004 and 2005, prior to its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• The Eagles' 30 wins in 2010 marked the seventh time in history they reached that number.
• BC hit the 30-win mark four times in a row from 2002-05 and set a school record with 37 victories in 2005.
HONORING SONNY
• Head Coach Mike Gambino started a new tradition at The Heights. Each season, a player who has battled adversity and represents the best qualities of BC Baseball will wear No. 8 in honor of former player Peter "Sonny" Nictakis.
• Sonny was a two-time captain for the Eagles in 1998-99 and lost his courageous battle with Hodgkin's disease in the summer of 2000.
• His No. 8 has not been worn since the 1999 season and Gambino tabbed senior 1B/OF Mike Sudol to be the first to don the number during the 2011 campaign.
• Sudol is a fifth-year senior who has faced a litany of injuries during his time at The Heights. The Franklin, N.J. product has endured four knee surgeries, a micro fracture, a bone graft and complete reconstruction of his meniscus. Sudol missed his freshman season and his second year was cut short.
• He has been an important contributor the last two seasons despite playing through pain most of the time. He has played in 94 games with 69 starts and is batting .286 with 40 runs, 55 RBI, 23 doubles and 11 home runs.
2011 CAPTAINS
• Senior RHP Geoff Oxley and senior C/INF Garret Smith were selected as the captains of the 2011 Boston College baseball team as voted by their teammates.
• Oxley is returning for his fifth year after receiving a medical redshirt in 2010. He had Tommy John surgery in May after making seven appearances out of the bullpen early in the season. Oxley has made 40 career appearances in relief and is 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA.
• Smith returns for his second year as the starting catcher after making the move from shortstop prior to the 2010 campaign. He had never caught in his life but went to the coaching staff and offered to go behind the plate to soften the loss of All-American Tony Sanchez. Smith has been a starter since he arrived on campus in 2008, playing in 133 games with 130 starts and is a career .269 hitter.
2010 AT A GLANCE
• BC finished the season 30-28 (14-16 ACC) and advanced to its second-straight ACC Championship after placing fourth in the Atlantic Division.
• The Eagles started the season under .500, going 15-17 and 6-9 in the league. But a nine-game win streak and a pair of sweeps against Wake Forest and NC State shot them to 24-17 and 12-9 by April 27. BC closed out the regular season with a 5-10 stretch before going 1-2 in the ACC Tournament.
• The top returning hitter in the lineup is junior INF Anthony Melchionda who led the team with a .358 batting average. He also had seven homers and 41 RBI.
• Senior 1B/OF Mike Sudol (.326) and junior INF Brad Zapenas (.318) are the other returning players who batted over .300.
• The weekend rotation returns two of its starters in senior RHP John Leonard and junior RHP Mike Dennhardt. Leonard went 2-3 with a 7.53 ERA while Dennhardt was 4-7 with a 7.22 ERA.
