Baseball Starts Spring Break Trip at Eastern Kentucky

WEEKEND PITCHING MATCH-UPS

Friday, Noon vs. Evansville: RHP-Joe Mancini (1-0, 1.50) vs. RHP-Adam Lukas (0-1, 6.52)
Friday, 4 p.m. vs. Eastern Kentucky: RHP-Matt Gill (1-0, 1.46) vs. RHP-Logan Teague (1-0, 3.00)
Saturday, 2 p.m. vs. Evansville: LHP-Zach Stromberg (0-0, 4.91) vs. LHP-Nathan Croner (1-1, 6.30)
Saturday, 6 p.m. vs. Eastern Kentucky: RHP-Mason Pelio (0-0, 4.50) vs. LHP-Brennan Kelly (2-0, 1.50)

BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES

Record: 4-2 (0-0 ACC)
Coach: Mike Gambino
Career Record/Years: 181-250/9
Rank: NR

EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES

Record: 3-4 (0-0 MVC)
Coach: Wes Carroll
Career Record/Years: 266-297/11
Rank: NR

EASTERN KENTUCKY COLONELS

Record: 6-3 (0-0 OVC)
Coach: Edwin Thompson
Career Record/Years: 121-130/6
Rank: NR

Boston College begins an eight-game, 11-day road swing through the "Bluegrass State" in Richmond, Ky. this weekend. The Eagles play a doubleheader on Friday, March 1 beginning at noon vs. Evansville and followed by a 4 p.m. contest against host Eastern Kentucky.

ABOUT THE EAGLES

Boston College enters the weekend at 4-2 after a series loss to Bethune-Cookman. The Eagles lead the country with 30 stolen bases and 10 double plays turned. Freshman designated hitter/outfielder Sal Frelick leads the team with a .500 (11-for-22) batting average and nine RBI, while leading the country with 10 stolen bases. Senior third baseman Jake Alu is second on the team with a .458 (11-for-24) average with six runs scored and four stolen bases. On the mound, junior right-hander Matt Gill has made two starts with a 1-0 record, 1.46 earned run average and .143 batting average against in 12.1 innings of work.

SCOUTING THE ACES

Evansville is 3-4 on the season after claiming a road series at Little Rock with a 10-5 win on Monday. Second baseman Danny Borgstrom leads the Aces' lineup with a .370 (10-for-27) average and eight RBI. Left fielder Nate Reeder is third on the team, hitting .292 (7-for-24) with three home runs.

SCOUTING THE COLONELS

Eastern Kentucky is 6-2 following a four-game sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore at home last weekend. The Colonels lead the country with 35 stolen bases. First baseman Will Johnson leads the team with eight steals, while hitting .393 (11-for-28) to go with a .893 slugging percentage on two doubles and four home runs with 12 RBI. Right fielder Nick Howie is hitting .481 (13-for-27) and slugging .667.

SPEEDING EAGLES

Through week one, the Eagles lead the ACC with 30 stolen bases, which ranks second in the country; five behind national leader Eastern Kentucky. Individually, Sal Frelick leads the country with 10 and Chris Galland ranks nine with six. As a team, Boston College swiped 92 bags in 2018. The Eagles ranked second in the ACC behind Louisville and 21st in the nation. BC averaged 1.88 per game; good enough for second in the league and 12th in the NCAA. Three Eagles tallied 19 stolen bases or more as Galland led the way with 28. He ranked 20th in the nation and 2nd in the ACC in overall steals and 12th in the country and first in the league with 0.58 per game. Dante Baldelli and Palomaki each stole 19 bags in 21 attempts; tying for eighth in the ACC. Collectively, BC stole bases at a 79.3% success rate. Jack Cunningham swiped eight, while Brian Dempsey added seven.

HOME RUN HITTERS

Last season, Boston College hit just 14 home runs in 49 games; averaging 0.29 per game. Through six games, the Eagles have gone up top five games; averaging 0.83 per game. BC hitters combined for four home runs at Bethune-Cookman (2/22-24). It marked the first time that the Eagles homered three games in a row since going deep five games in a row with 11 home runs from March 31 to April 5, 2015.

UP NEXT

The Eagles remain in Kentucky for a Wednesday game against the University of Kentucky before opening ACC play at Louisville next weekend.