Baseball at Pitt This Weekend

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The Boston College baseball team hits the road to face Pittsburgh for a three-game series at Charles L. Cost Field this weekend. All three games will be streamed on ACCNX beginning Friday, May 7 at 6 p.m.

About the Eagles...
Boston College is 19-23 overall and 8-19 in the ACC after a series win over Miami at home last weekend. The Eagles won their first league series since the opener against Duke. BC outscored the Hurricanes 26-8 on the weekend, but were on the wrong side of a 2-1 pitcher's duel in game two. Junior right-hander Emmet Sheehan has thrown 13-shutout innings since moving into the Friday role. He is 5-3 with s 3.90 earned run average and 87 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched. Junior center fielder Sal Frelick is hitting a team-best .360 with 45 runs scored and 15 doubles. Sophomore third baseman/designated hitter Luke Gold is second with a .342 average and leads in the power categories with a .651 slugging percentage, nine home runs and 42 RBI. Junior second baseman Cody Morissette has seen his average jump 28 points since re-entering the lineup permanently, following a hand injury, on April 24. He is hitting .287 with five home runs and 28 RBI.

Weekend Pitching Match-Ups (Pittsburgh, Pa. • Charles L. Cost Field)
Friday, 3 p.m. (ACCNX): RHP-Emmet Sheehan (5-3, 3.90) vs. RHP-Mitch Myers (3-4, 3.14)
Saturday, 1 p.m. (ACCNX): RHP-Mason Pelio (3-5, 6.09) vs. RHP-Matt Gilbertson (5-3, 3.53)
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. (ACCNX): TBD vs. RHP-Billy Corcoran (0-0, 3.00)

Scouting the Panthers...
Pittsburgh returned to play after a two-week Covid pause with a non-conference loss to West Virginia, 8-2, on Wednesday night. The Panthers are 20-12 overall, 14-10 in the ACC and maintained a top-25 ranking, despite not playing since April 18, and peak at No. 16 by Baseball America. Right fielder Nico Popa owns a .346/.419/.556 slash with eight home runs and 12 stolen bases. eft fielder Kyle Hess has totaled 15 extra-base hits on a .299 average and .493 slugging with a team-high 29 RBI.

Last Time They Met...
BC salvaged the weekend series with an 8-0 win in game three against Pitt in Brighton. Brian Rapp (6.2) and Travis Lane (2.1) combined to fire a one-hit, shutout. Jake Palomaki homered and Gian Martellini went 2-for-4 with three RBI. The Panthers claimed the series by winning the first two 9-4 and 6-4; game two coming in 13 innings.

All-Time vs. Pitt...
Pittsburgh leads the all-time series 28-25 and 6-3 in ACC play. The Panthers have won all three series since joining the league in 2014. BC last visited Pitt in 2016; winning the opener, 6-4. The all-time series started in 1990 as members of the Big East with the Eagles claiming a road series two games to one.

Down to the Wire...
Entering the weekend, BC sits in 13th place in the 14-team ACC, which takes the top 12 teams by winning percentage, regardless of division, to the ACC Championship. The Eagles (8-19, .296) are currently three games back of Duke (9-15, .375), while holding a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Blue Devils. BC clinched a spot in each of its last three ACC Championships (2016, 2017, 2019) in the final week of the season. In 2016 and 2017, the Eagles' spot in the postseason was secured in the regular season finale. In 2019, it came in a game one win over Notre Dame.

Things "You Oughta Know"...
Cody Morissette (hand) missed eight games, in two separate stretches, due to a hand injury sustained against Louisville (3/12) and played through an additional six games with a nagging injury. In 28 games with a healthy Morissette, the Eagles are an even 14-14, while he is hitting .303 with a .495 slugging percentage and .400 OBP.

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Players Mentioned

Sal Frelick

Luke Gold

Travis Lane

Gian Martellini

Cody Morissette

Jake Palomaki

Mason Pelio

Brian Rapp

Emmet Sheehan