Gameday: ALS Awareness Game Friday at Fenway

Match-Up: No. 21 Boston College (32-16, 14-13 ACC) vs. Notre Dame (29-20, 14-13 ACC)
Dates: May 18-20 Times: 5:30 p.m. • 7 p.m. • Noon ET
Location: Brighton, Mass. | Boston, Mass. (Friday) Stadium: Harrington Athletics Village | Fenway Park (Friday)
TV/Stream: ACCNX (Thursday, Saturday), ACC Network (Friday)

ALS AWARENESS GAME

Game two of the series on Friday night moves down the street to Fenway Park for the 11th Annual ALS Awareness Game. The game returned to Fenway a year ago and was played in front of more than 3,700 fans. The game is a celebration of the life of former BC captain Pete Frates, who passed in 2019 after a seven-year battle with ALS.

ACC Network: Along with Friday's game being broadcast nationally on ACC Network, live coverage from Fenway Park will lead in to first pitch. ACCN's afternoon program “ACC PM" will host a remote show from the first base line from 4-7 p.m. and feature guests from BC baseball as well as William V. Campbell Director of Athletics Blake James.

Promotions: Frates' daughter Lucy will throw out the first pitch to Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman and supporter of the ALS mission Ray Bourque.

Giveaway: A reversible “Strike Out ALS” bucket hat presented by Coca-Cola will be given away to fans upon entry to Fenway.

GAME NOTES

PITCHING MATCH-UPS

ABOUT THE EAGLES

Boston College is 32-16 overall and 14-13 in the ACC, which is tied for third in the Atlantic Division with Notre Dame. The Eagles and Irish are tied for seventh overall in the conference; two games back of Virginia and Miami, who sit atop the Coastal, for fourth. BC is ranked for the 10th consecutive week, peaking at No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Top-25 and NCBWA writer’s poll. Senior center fielder Barry Walsh leads the BC lineup with a .310 batting average and 12 stolen bases. He has hit leadoff in each of the last five games and homered twice in that stretch. Junior first baseman Joe Vetrano is slugging a team-high .590 with 15 home runs, including three at No. 2 Wake Forest, and nine doubles to go with a .295 average. Graduate right-hander Chris Flynn leads the pitching staff with a 6-2 record, 3.96 earned run average and 74 strikeouts. Fellow grad transfer RHP, Andrew Roman, occupies the closer spot and has a 1.77 ERA with eight saves.

THE BC-ND SERIES

Boston College trails the all-time series against Notre Dame, 18-35. The series began in 1996 when the Fighting Irish joined the Big East. When the two sides reunited in the ACC in 2014, the Eagles won the initial match-up; 4-1 in 11 innings at Chicago State.
Postseason Positioning: Despite having already clinched a spot in this year’s ACC Championship, BC faces Notre Dame on the final weekend of the season for the third time since 2017. In the final games played on Shea Field, the Eagles swept the Irish in 2017 to earn a trip to the ACC Championship. In 2019, BC clinched its postseason berth at home behind 7.2 innings of one-run ball from Dan Metzdorf.
Last Time They Met: Boston College claimed game one in South Bend as Joe Mancini gave the Eagles seven innings of one-run ball in a 7-4 win over the No. 18 Fighting Irish. ND scored eight runs in the first inning of game two to even the series and used an 11-run sixth on Sunday to overcome an 8-5 BC lead in the rubber-match.

RESUME NOTES

• The Eagles enter the final week of the regular season with the No. 13 RPI in the nation and No. 27 strength of schedule.
• BC’s 21 road/neutral wins tied for the most in the Power 5. Seven of the Eagles’ road/neutral wins have come against Q1 opponents; the most in the country.
• BC is the only program in the country with 12-plus Q1 wins (13) and 12-plus road wins (18).
• The Eagles first 18 games were played away from home as they amassed a 14-4 record over that stretch.
• A Northeast school last hosted a NCAA Regional on campus in 1991 when three-seed Maine hosted the Northeast Regional.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Barry Walsh, Center Field
.310/.407/.462, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 12 SB

Peter Burns, Catcher
.246/.404/.355, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 4 SB

Patrick Roche, Right Field
.290/.397/.408, 3 HR, 35 RBI, 4 SB

Joe Vetrano, First Base
.295/.389/.590, 15 HR, 42 RBI, 3 SB

Vince Cimini, Second Base (pictured)
.284/.381/.320, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 3 SB

Nick Wang, Third Base
.246/.363/.469, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 1 SB

Sam McNulty, Shortstop
.340/.424/.440, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB

Cohl Mercado, Designated Hitter
.262/.391/.300, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 9 SB

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Turning Two ‘23 Episode 11: Pete Frates and the ALS game, regional projections, ACC standings and a conversation with California-raised Yankees fan and Birdball Friday starter Henry Leake in the latest episode of "Turning Two".

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