April 30, 2011

Box Score

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Junior Anthony Melchionda hit a double in the bottom of the 11th that scored sophomore Matt McGovern from first to give the Boston College baseball team a 5-4 walk-off win against No. 1 Virginia Saturday afternoon at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field.

The Eagles ended it quickly in the 11th inning as McGovern led off with a single. Melchionda took the first pitch of his at-bat deep to the gap in right, giving the speedy McGovern plenty of time to score the winning run from first.

McGovern's single was his third hit of the game as he went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs. Junior Andrew Lawrence was 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI and freshman Nate LaPointe hit a three-run homer, the first of his career.

Junior Kyle Prohovich was masterful on the mound in relief. He threw a career-high 4.0 innings and allowed just two hits. He got the win to improve to 3-1 on the season. Senior John Leonard got the start and worked 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on six hits.

The rubber match of the series is Sunday at 1 p.m. BC (16-25, 7-15 ACC) has a chance to become the first team this season to win a series against the Cavaliers (41-5, 19-4).

Virginia took the first lead of the game in the top of the second with a pair of runs. Danny Hultzen led off with a double that one-hopped the wall in right and then Kenny Swab hit an infield single to put runners on the corners. A walk loaded the bases with no outs and Reed Gragnani brought in a run with a sac fly. Keith Werman laid a bunt down the first base line which scored Swab for the other run.

BC responded with three runs in the bottom half of the second to take its first lead of the series. Lawrence led off with a triple to deep center and then a walk to senior Mike Sudol put men on the corners. A strikeout and a fielder's choice put two outs on the board with no runs, but LaPointe turned on a fastball up in the zone for a three-run homer to left.

The Cavs tied the game with a run in the fourth but could have gotten more. Hultzen started it off with a single and stole second on the next pitch. Swab drew a walk and then a David Coleman single loaded the bases again with no outs. A groundout to first brought in the run and then Leonard buckled down to get a strikeout and a foul out to prevent further damage.

The Eagles regained the lead with a run in the sixth. McGovern led off and doubled when a blooper dropped between the second baseman and the right fielder. Melchionda did his job by moving him over to third with a groundout and Lawrence drove him in with a single to right.

Virginia tied the game again with a run in the eighth. Hultzen drew a leadoff walk and then pinch runner Mitchell Shifflet stole second. The ball bounced into the outfield and he was able to get to third. Coleman then found the hole on the right side of a drawn-in infield to make it 4-4.

Both teams made sparkling defensive plays to set up the 11th inning dramatics. With two outs and junior Brad Zapenas on third in the bottom of the eighth, Lawrence pulled a sharp grounder over the bag at first. Swab made a game-saving diving stab on the line and beat Lawrence to first in a foot race to end the inning.

In the top of the 11th, Coleman was on first with two outs after a single. He took off on a 1-0 pitch and Werman hit a deep fly to the gap in right. Freshman Tom Bourdon, who had already made a great play to the gap in left, saved a run with another fantastic play on the run.

Coleman was 3-for-4 at the plate for UVa with an RBI. Hultzen reached base in all four plate appearances as he went 2-for-2 with a double, two runs and a pair of walks. Reed Gragnani drove in two runs.