Baseball Falls to Virginia Tech, 6-3

Saturday, May 2

Blacksburg, Va.

2:00 PM

Boston College

24-23, 9-16

Virginia Tech

24-24, 11-14

Boston College

Virginia Tech

Gorman struck out nine, bringing his career total to 192, seventh in BC record books.

May 02, 2015 | Baseball

Box Score

May 2, 2015

Box Score | Postgame Interview

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Virginia Tech 6, Boston College 3
Records: Boston College (24-23, 9-16 ACC), Virginia Tech (24-24, 11-14 ACC)
Series: Virginia Tech leads the series, 2-0
Location: English Field in Blacksburg, Va.
Weather: 64 degrees, partly cloudy, 12 mph winds
Attendance: 1,284
Time of Game: 3:02

BC Starting Lineup:

Starting Pitcher: RHP John Gorman

Virginia Tech Starting Lineup:

Saige Jenco -- CF
Rahiem Cooper -- RF
Alex Perez -- SS
Brendon Hayden -- 1B
Erik Payne -- LF
Max Ponzurick -- DH
Sam Fragale -- 2B
Andrew Mogg -- C
Ryan Tufts -- 3B

Starting Pitcher: LHP Sean Keselica

BC HIGHLIGHTS

Sophomore Johnny Adams led the Eagles with a 4-for-5 day, tying his career high. He has a hit in 13 of the last 15 games and extended his season-long hit streak to seven games. He has also reached base safely in the last 13 games.
For the second straight day, freshman Jake Palomaki led off the game with a walk, extending his on-base streak to 30 games. He has drawn at least one walk in 15 of the last 20 games and increased the BC single-season record to 42. He was 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and two runs scored.
Senior Blake Butera was hit by a pitch in the third to tie for fifth on BC's career list with 25. He also started his 200^th game in Maroon and Gold, third in BC record books.
Junior Chris Shaw recorded a pinch-hit single in the sixth, extending his hit streak to a career-long 17 games, which is also third in BC record books, dating back to 2005.
With two hits on the day, junior Stephen Sauter has tallied eight hits in the last 13 at bats.
Senior RHP John Gorman allowed four runs in the first but settled in and shut the Hokies out for his remaining five innings. He gave up four hits, five walks and struck out nine. He is now tied for eighth in BC record books with 69 career appearances and takes over seventh in the record books for innings pitched with 226.0.

KEY PLAYS
The Hokies took a 4-0 lead on a grand slam in the first and while the Eagles made it a one-run game in the fifth, they could muster the tying run. Virginia Tech scored two insurance runs in the eighth to seal the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Hokies took an early 4-0 lead with a grand slam in the bottom of the first. They loaded the bases on two base hits and a walk and with one down, Erik Payne went deep to center. Gorman settled in and got a fly ball and strikeout to get out of the inning.
The Eagles cut the lead to two in the third. Freshman Mitch Bigras led off the inning with a single to right and moved to second on a passed ball. Palomaki drove him in with a single to right. Adams followed with an infield hit and Butera was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Sophomore Michael Strem plated Palomaki with a grounder to short and beat the throw on the double play attempt to keep the bases juiced. A 463 double play ended the BC threat.
BC made it a one-run game in the fifth as Palomaki led off with a double and Adams plated him with a base hit up the middle. The Eagles put two more on on an error and walk, but a strikeout ended their chances.
After stranding runners on second and third in the eighth, the Hokies tallied two in the bottom of the inning off sophomore RHP Justin Dunn. Alex Perez drew a one-out walk and Brendon Hayden followed with a single to center. Dunn got the second out swinging but gave up a two-run base hit to Max Ponzurick to make it a 6-3 game. The righty ended the inning with another K.
The Eagles put runners on first and second in the ninth but could not push anything across.

OF RECORD
Winning Pitcher:Keselica (5-3): 7.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Save: Scherzer (4): 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Losing Pitcher: Gorman (4-4): 6.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 9 K

TEAM LEADERS
Boston College
Hits: 4, Adams (4-for-5)
Runs: 2, Palomaki
RBIs: 1, Palomaki, Adams, Strem
Strikeouts: 9, Gorman

Virginia Tech
Hits: 1, Jenco (1-for-4), Cooper (1-for-1), Caples (1-for-2), Hayden (1-for-2), Payne (1-for-2, HR), Ponzurick (1-for-4)
Runs: 2, Hayden
RBIs: 4, Payne
Strikeouts: 3, Keselica

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

The two runs Dunn surrendered in the eighth were the first he has allowed in his last seven apparances. He pitched 10 straight shutout innings of relief.
Only extra-base hit Gorman and Dunn allowed was the home run in the first.
In the last 17 games he has played, Shaw has tallied at least one hit, racking up 30 hits, including seven doubles and seven home runs, 15 runs and 22 RBIs. He has also been walked nine times.
BC recorded at least 10 hits for the 17th this season and third straight game. It is the sixth game the Eagles have lost when doing so.
The Eagles also outhit the Hokies, for the second straight game. They are now 21-6 when outhitting opponents.
The Eagles did not make an error for the 20^th time this season.