Boston College Athletics
Weekend Preview: Baseball Plays in the Snowbird Classic
February 26, 2015 | Baseball
THE FACTS
WHERE: Port Charlotte, Fla.
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 27-Monday, March 2, 2015
OPPONENTS: Friday: Nebraska-Omaha | Saturday: North Dakota State | Sunday: Kansas | Monday: Villanova
RECORD vs. OPPONENTS: It will be BC's first matchup against Nebraska-Omaha and Kansas. | North Dakota State leads BC, 1-0 | BC leads Villanova, 25-22
HOW TO FOLLOW
Twitter: @BCBirdball
Live Stats: Friday| Saturday| Sunday| Monday
THE MATCHUPS
Pitching Matchups
Friday vs. Nebraska-Omaha: RHP Jeff Burke (0-1, 9.72 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Hamer (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 app)
Saturday vs. North Dakota State: LHP Jesse Adams (0-0, 4.91 ERA) vs. LHP Trent Keefer (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
Sunday vs. Kansas: RHP John Gorman (0-1, 6.30 ERA) vs. RHP Sean Rackoski (0-1, 16.50 ERA)
Monday vs. Villanova: RHP Justin Dunn (1-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. TBA
Scouting the Teams
· Nebraska-Omaha comes into the Snowbird Classic with a 4-3 record. Last weekend, the Mavericks took three of four against Chicago State in Atlanta. The Eagles will face right-hander Tyler Hamer, who threw four innings of hitless relief, walking one and registering four strikeouts in the only loss of the series. They are led at the plate by Cole Gruber, who has nine hits and four RBIs.
· North Dakota State is looking for its first wins at the Snowbird Classic, entering the weekend with a 0-5 record. The Bisons dropped their last two games to Arizona, 7-2, and 11-1. The team is batting .204 while the pitching staff has allowed six earned runs a game through the first five.
·Kansas comes to Florida with a 3-5 record after going 2-2 at the Pac-12/Big-12 Challenge in Mesa, Ariz. The Jayhawks defeated Washington and Utah but dropped games to Washington State and Oregon State. Connor McKay leads the team with 12 hits, including three doubles and three triples.
·The Eagles will battle Villanova for the second time at the Snowbird Classic after coming away with 7-6, 11-inning win last year. The Wildcats have one just one of six games this season, beating Northeastern by one at the Irish Invitational. Max Beerman leads the Cats with eight hits, including three doubles, two triples and a home runs, and four RBIs.
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE EAGLES
· The Eagles (2-5) look to get back on track after losing a three-game set to No. 2/4 LSU in Baton Rouge, La., last weekend. BC went 2-1 in the Snowbird Classic last season, defeating Central Michigan and Villanova, but falling in the final game to Western Michigan.
·The Florida tournament marks the beginning of spring break for Boston College, which will play eight games over 10 days. After the four-game set in Port Charlotte, Fla., the Eagles will battle the Red Sox in the 25th annual exhibition contest. BC will end the week by opening the Atlantic Coast Conference season in Tallahassee, against No. 22Florida State.
· Three BC hitters have registered 11 hits to lead the team: Senior Blake Butera leads all with a .393 average while sophomore Michael Strem has recorded racked up more than half his hits (6) in doubles. Junior Gabriel Hernandez, also with 11 hits, leads the way with 16 total bases.
· Junior Chris Shaw leads the Eagles with 10 RBIs and two home runs. He has reached base safely in the last 28 games and recorded at least one hit in 27 of the last 31 games, dating back to 2014.
·Strem has a career-long, eight-game hit streak going, and is one of five Eagles to have reached base safely in the first seven games (Shaw, Butera, Hernandez and junior Logan Hoggarth).
· Butera has six walks on the season, bringing his career total to 96, which ties for third in BC record books.
· Freshman left-hander Carmen Giampetruzzi has made three appearances in his young Eagle career and has not allowed a hit or run. He has walked one and struck out two - finishing off an inning with six straight strikes.
