Boston College Athletics
Baseball Welcomes Clemson For Weekend Series
April 14, 2011 | Baseball
April 14, 2011
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The Boston College baseball team hosts Clemson this weekend for a three-game ACC Atlantic Division series. The Eagles (13-17, 6-8 ACC) enter the weekend with a half-game lead over the Tigers (19-13, 6-9) for second place in the division.
Friday's series lid lifter is set for 2:30 p.m. at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field. Game two is Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and the series concludes Sunday at noon.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH UPS (BC listed first)
Friday: Bullpen vs. RHP Dominic Leone (0-1, 5.60)
Saturday: RHP John Leonard (4-3, 3.71) vs. RHP Scott Firth (3-0, 2.87)
Sunday: Bullpen vs. TBA
WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
Friday: Partly cloudy skies. High 52 degrees. Winds NE 5-10 MPH.
Saturday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 50s.
Sunday: Mainly cloudy and rainy. Highs in the low 60s.
WAYS TO FOLLOW
Boston College Twitter: BCSportsNews
WZBC Radio: Click Here
Gametracker: Friday's Game, Saturday's Game, Sunday's Game
BC HOSTS CLEMSON IN CRUCIAL SERIES
• The Boston College baseball team hosts Clemson in an important ACC series this weekend.
• The Eagles are second in the Atlantic Division at 6-8 while Clemson is third with a 6-9 record.
• BC is coming off a series win at Duke after losing the opener Friday night.
• Clemson, which was voted the ACC preseason favorite, took two of three from Maryland at home last weekend.
A STREAK UNMATCHED
• Sophomore OF Matt McGovern is on an unbelievable tear at the plate.
• He has four hits in each of the last three games and is 12-for-14 (.857) during that span.
• He is the only player in the ACC to have four hits in three-consecutive games this season.
• McGovern has had multiple hits in every game during his current five-game hit streak and is batting .640 (16-for-25) with two triples, eight RBIs and six runs scored.
• The Mamaroneck, N.Y. product has an RBI in six of the last seven contests.
• He has recorded a hit, run or RBI in each of his 11 starts this season.
• McGovern is batting .511 in 14 games played this year.
BATS COMING ALIVE
• The BC offense hit just .245 through the first 23 games of the season, but in the last seven games it has hit at a .370 clip.
• Through the last seven games, five starters are hitting over .400 with three of them over .500 - sophomore OF Matt McGovern (.621), senior INF Matt Hamlet (.520) and junior INF Anthony Melchionda (.500).
• On the other hand, not one starter was hitting over .300 in the first 23 games.
• The Eagles have 53 runs on 94 hits in the last seven outings - an average of 7.6 runs and 13.4 hits a game.
• Prior to that, they had 96 runs on 185 hits - or 4.2 runs and 8.0 hits a contest.
WILD WEATHER
• Boston College has had a tough go of it at home this year.
• The Eagles have played just six games at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field so far.
• BC's home-opening weekend against Virginia Tech had to be moved to Bill Beck Field at the University of Rhode Island due to the harsh winter.
• The Boston area is coming off one of the worst winters in recent history and there was more precipitation the week before BC hosted the Hokies.
• The Eagles' March 16 game at Bryant had to be postponed due to weather.
• BC had more weather trouble when it hosted Miami. The teams only played two games of the series and both came on Sunday.
• The northeast was hit by a nor'easter that Friday that brought rain and snow into the area. Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field still had snow cover on it as of that Saturday afternoon.
• BC had to postpone a home game against Rhode Island on April 5 and its game at UMass this past Wednesday was also not played due to rain.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
• Boston College might be 13-17, but it has faced the 16th-toughest schedule in the country, according to Boyd's World.
• The Eagles had a pair of three-game series at No. 1 Florida and No. 5 Florida State and played the season opener at No. 23 Coastal Carolina.
• BC lost to the Chanticleers and dropped the series finale against the Seminoles with walk-offs.
• Boston College has only had six true home games so far this year.
THE TRAVELS OF A NEW ENGLAND TEAM
• BC traveled nearly 10,240 miles before playing its first home game on March 25, and even then it wasn't at home.
• Boston College opened the season at the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• Sandwiched in between the series with the No. 1 Florida Gators was the annual exhibition with the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers February 26.
• The Eagles returned to campus before heading to Daytona Beach for the spring break trip. They played in Daytona Beach and Orlando before packing up for the weekend at No. 5 Florida State.
• A non-conference game at Bryant was postponed before traveling to College Park for an ACC series at Maryland.
• BC made the short trip to Holy Cross in Worcester and played its home-opening series vs. Virginia Tech at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston.
• The Eagles had away games at Northeastern and Rhode Island before hosting Miami in Chestnut Hill. The teams played two games at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field - the first two true home games of the year.
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 has made 23 errors so far this season which gives it a .979 fielding percentage. That ranks third in the conference and seventh nationally. Its 23 errors are the second fewest in the ACC going into the weekend.
• BC has made four errors in the last four games.
• The Eagles have turned 31 double plays which ranks second in the ACC. BC has turned seven in the last four contests.
SMITH STEPS UP
• Senior C/INF/RHP Garret Smith has a hit in seven-straight games and in 16 of the last 17. He is batting .343 in the last 17 games with six doubles, 11 runs and four RBIs.
• He has improved his batting average from .237 on March 11 to the .305 mark he is sporting now. That ranks third on the team.
• The Sterling, Mass. native has also been hitting well in ACC games this year.
• He leads BC with a .345 batting average, 19 hits and six doubles in 14 conference games.
MELCHIONDA ON ANOTHER TEAR
• Junior INF Anthony Melchionda went on a tear from February 27 to March 8 and is back at it again.
• He is 17-for-34 in the last eight games and has six doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs during that span. He has improved his batting average from .253 on March 29 to his current .327 which leads the team.
• He also has seven RBIs in the last three outings.
• The local product from Braintree ranks ninth in the ACC in RBIs (31), second in triples (3), 20th in slugging percentage (.496) and 23rd in batting average (.327).
• Melchionda broke out earlier in the season from February 27 to March 8.
• He batted .455 over the five games with two doubles, two triples and 11 RBIs. BC went 4-1 in that stretch.
• Melchionda had a hit and an RBI in each of those games.
• He was 7-for-10 with runners in scoring position during the span, 3-for-4 with with runners on third and less than two outs and 3-for-4 with two outs in the inning.
HAMLET OVER .300
• Senior 2B Matt Hamlet is on a little streak of his own - improving his batting average from .190 on March 27 to his current .303.
• The Chesapeake, Va. native has a hit in seven of the last nine games and five of those have been multi-hit performances. He is 16-for-31 (.516) during that span with two doubles, a triple and seven runs scored.
• He is slugging at a .645 clip and is leading the Eagles with a .571 on-base percentage.
LEONARD'S LOOKING SHARP
• Senior RHP John Leonard returned to campus despite being drafted by the San Francisco Giants last summer in the 36th round and it is paying big dividends.
• So far this year, Leonard is 4-3 with a 3.71 ERA. He has allowed 25 runs - 21 earned - on 50 hits in 51.0 innings. He has struck out 24 and walked 14.
• Leonard ranks eighth in the ACC in innings pitched, 20th in ERA and 24th in opposing batting average (.263).
UNHITTABLE TO START
• Senior RHP John Leonard was nearly unhittable in the beginning of his outings at No. 5 Florida State and at Maryland.
• Against the Seminoles, Leonard was stellar for the first 6.0 innings, but FSU tied the game with three runs in the seventh and went on to win, 4-3. He faced the minimum number of batters through 3.2 innings and just two over the minimum through the six.
• Leonard allowed one hit in the first six frames and nobody reached second base.
• In the series finale at Maryland, he allowed an unearned run through a career-high 8.0 innings of work to lead BC to a 4-1 win.
• Leonard began that outing by throwing 5.1 no hit innings. He faced three batters over the minimum while he was on the mound and only three Terrapins reached second. He finished the day by giving up three hits and walking two while striking out five.
LIKE A PRO
• Junior RHP Kyle Prohovich has become a go-to guy out of the bullpen for BC.
• He leads the team with 15 appearances and has allowed a run in just two of his last 12 outings.
• Prohovich hasn't allowed a run in his last five calls from the bullpen - a total of 8.2 innings.
• The local product from Weston has given up just three hits in that span. He also hasn't issued a walk while striking out nine batters.
• Prohovich tossed a career-high 3.2 innings at Duke last Sunday to pick up his second win of the week. He pitched from the seventh to the 10th innings and allowed three baserunners while fanning five - also a career high.
LAWRENCE TAKES ON BIGGER ROLE
• Junior OF Andrew Lawrence has started 17 games in the outfield, but now he has added pitching to his repertoire.
• The coaching staff has used the left-hander in 12 games and he has a 3.21 ERA. Lawrence has thrown 14.0 innings and allowed five earned runs on 13 hits.
• He threw 3.0 innings in the loss at UCF and stopped the bleeding. He allowed one base runner - a walk - and struck out two.
• Lawrence has started five games and in all five, he threw just the first inning.
• The last time he pitched before this season was as a senior in high school in the state semifinals in 2007.
• Lawrence is batting .263 with six doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs. He is the only player on the team with more than one home run.
• He went 4-for-5 with a double, a three-run homer and four RBIs at Dartmouth Wednesday.
BOURDON OFF TO GOOD START
• Freshman OF Tom Bourdon has been the everyday starter in center field for the Eagles.
• The Red Sox drafted him in the 38th round (1,163 overall) of the First-Year Player Draft last June.
• He has started 27 games in center field and is second among the everyday starters with a .308 batting average.
• He has a hit in each of his last six starts.
• He hit an inside-the-park home run against Bethune-Cookman March 4 after the center fielder misjudged the ball.
• Bourdon's older brother, Mike, was also drafted by the Sox out of high school in 2007. He is now a senior catcher at the University of Tampa.
• Tom Bourdon was the first player in Northwest Catholic history to be named to the All-Central Conn. Conference team all four years in high school.
• He was a two-time all-state selection and the only Connecticut player named to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Region 1 team.
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 .276 hitter and has started 159 games since he arrived on campus in 2008.
• "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."
• Smith has 15 starts at first base, nine behind the plate and three at third base.
• He has also earned the spot as the closer on the pitching staff and has six saves which ranks third in the ACC.
• He has a 0.82 ERA in 11 appearances and 11.0 innings of work. He has allowed one run on six hits.
HUNTER'S SCORELESS STREAK
• Sophomore RHP Hunter Gordon got off to a rough start this season but settled in and is now one of BC's most reliable relievers.
• Gordon gave up a walk-off home run in the season opener at No. 23 Coastal Carolina on his second pitch of the night, then he gave up another round-tripper against the first batter he faced at Bethune-Cookman March 4.
• Following that start, he allowed just one unearned run in the next nine outings.
• The Swampscott, Mass. product threw 12.0 innings in that span and allowed seven hits. The only extra base hits he allowed were two doubles and opponents hit just .156 against him.
• Gordon is currently 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA in 15.0 innings of work.
SUDOL'S HOT STREAK
• Senior OF/1B Mike Sudol was hitting just .195 through the first 11 games.
• He went 11-for-22 from March 12-23 to improve his average to .302.
• He had four multi-hit games in that span with three doubles and a solo home run.
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 140 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 has made five errors. He is batting .259 with six doubles, a triple, a homer and 13 RBIs.
• Zapenas has been the leadoff hitter in every game this year. When he leads off an inning, he is hitting .333 (18-for-54).
A HUGE INNING
• The BC offense erupted for 12 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning April 6 against Bryant. The Eagles were losing 5-4 entering the frame and came away with a 16-5 victory.
• It was the most runs scored by the maroon and gold since April 13, 1999 when it scored 12 runs in the second inning against Harvard in a 12-6 win.
• The Eagles went 8-for-11 in the inning (.727) and the first six batters reached base.
• BC also went 3-for-4 with two outs - driving in six runs in the process.
EAGLES WIN IN EXTRAS ON SUNDAY TO BEAT DUKE TWO OUT OF THREE
• BC scored four runs in the last three innings to force extras and junior INF Anthony Melchionda hit a two-run single in the top of the 11th to lead the Eagles past Duke, 6-4, in the Sunday rubber match.
• Sophomore OF Matt McGovern drove in four of the five BC runs on Saturday and senior RHP John Leonard allowed three runs through 7.0 innings for the 5-3 win Saturday.
• McGovern had career highs in hits and RBIs as he went 4-for-5 with a triple while driving in four runs. Leonard picked up his fourth win of the year after tossing 7.0 innings and allowing three runs on 10 hits. He struck out two and walked a pair.
• McGovern was 10-for-15 in the series with six RBIs and three runs.
BC TAKES SERIES FROM HOKIES
• Boston College opened the home portion of its schedule by hosting Virginia Tech at the University of Rhode Island March 25-27.
• Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field was unplayable due to the harsh winter.
• Junior INF Anthony Melchionda hit a two-run homer and eight different pitchers shut out Virginia Tech for eight innings in a 5-3 series opening win.
• Senior LHP Nate Bayuk allowed one hit through 7.0 innings and junior OF Marc Perdios drove in two runs in Saturday's 2-1 win.
• The Hokies won the series finale, 8-1.
EAGLES TAKE TWO OF THREE AT MARYLAND
• Boston College earned its first series win of the year at Maryland March 18-20.
• Seven different relievers combined to throw 8.0 shutout innings in a 7-4 win Friday night.
• The bullpen faced two batters over the minimum through the last 8.0 innings of the game and only allowed one hit - a solo homer in the eighth.
• After losing 4-3 Saturday on a bases loaded balk in the seventh, senior RHP John Leonard carried the Eagles on Sunday in a 4-1 triumph.
• He allowed an unearned run in 8.0 innings of work and began his outing by throwing 5.1 no hit innings. He faced three batters over the minimum while he was on the mound and only three Terrapins reached second.
EAGLES LOSE TIGHT GAMES AT #5 FSU
• Boston College was swept by No. 5 Florida State, but two of the games were decided by two runs or less.
• The Eagles opened with a 3-1 loss when facing Sean Gilmartin. Junior OF Andrew Lawrence hit a solo homer in the second before the Seminoles scored three times in the fifth.
• In the series finale, BC held a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh. Florida State, which had one hit to that point, broke through with three runs to tie the game.
• BC had men on second and third with one out in the top of the ninth but couldn't convert and FSU turned that momentum into a walk-off win on a sac fly.
• Florida State won the second game of the series, 15-6.
MY SACRIFICE
• Senior 2B Matt Hamlet entered the season as the reigning NCAA champion in sac 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."
• BC has only sacrifice bunted 11 times this season and Hamlet has one.
• Freshman OF Tom Bourdon leads in that category with four.
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 INF Anthony Melchionda and sophomore C Matt Watson had seven homers and senior 1B/OF Mike Sudol had six.
• Boston College has nine home runs through the first 30 games and one was an inside-the-parker.
WHEN ALLOWING FIVE RUNS OR LESS
• 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.
• The Eagles are 12-7 start when allowing five runs or less in 2011.
• Boston College is 1-10 when allowing more than five runs this season.
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 RBIs that BC recorded came with two outs.
• Junior 3B Anthony Melchionda led all returning players with 18 two-out RBIs 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.
• Sixty-four of the 140 RBIs that BC has recorded this season have come with two outs.
• Junior INF Anthony Melchionda leads the team with 13 two-out RBIs while junior INF Brad Zapenas and freshman OF Tom Bourdon have eight.
OFFENSIVE LOSS
• BC had 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 RBIs. 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.
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.
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 RBIs.
• 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.
