Boston College piles on late to beat Hokies
Travis Church / SPPSThe Hokies (7-12) weren't able to utilize the energy from Tuesday, falling behind early and ultimately losing 12-6.
Tech managed to cut the deficit to as little as one on two occasions. They had the tying run up in the bottom of the eighth with Austin Wates at the plate. But Wates grounded out harmlessly to second baseman Matt Hamlet "We didn't get the big hit today," said Hughes, who was coaching against the team he had previously led for eight seasons. "We haven't got a big hit in a while. Boston College did."
The game started perfectly for Boston College (9-8), as leadoff batter Barry Butera hit a home run over the right field fence. It was his fifth home run of the season.
It didn't get much better for Tech and its starter, Rob Waskiewicz. The right-hander loaded the bases with one out and then gave up a single to first baseman Michael Belfiore, making the score 2-0. Two more runs would cross the plate in the inning.
The Hokies chipped away at that lead, scoring in each of their first three innings at-bat.
In the bottom half of the first, a wild pitch by Boston College starting pitcher Kevin Moran allowed right fielder Klint Reed – making just his fourth start of the season – to come home safely. Matt Hacker's second inning double into the left field corner and Jose Cueto's sacrifice fly in the third inning made the score 4-3.
"Even at 4-0, we knew we were still in the ball game," said Hacker, who went 2-for-3 on the afternoon. "Coach tells us to keep playing no matter what the score is. We always felt like were in the game."
Tech appeared to be gaining momentum. After a strike out of Butera in the fourth, catcher Anthony Sosnoskie threw out Harry Darling trying to steal.
In his first collegiate start, Waskiewicz left after five innings of work. He gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks.
"I thought he pitched a really well for his first college start," Hughes said. "We had to take him out earlier than we wanted because his pitch count was high."
With Hokie right-hander Jake Peeling on the mound in relief, the Eagles extended their lead in the sixth. A two-out, two-run double by Hamlet fell just inside the right field line.
Tech matched that in the bottom half, thanks to a line-drive solo home run by Cueto and a sacrifice fly to center field by Matt Hacker.
The Hokies had a chance for more runs in the frame, but that hope faded away when Sean Ryan was caught trying to steal second base and after pinch hitter Michael Seaborn popped out in foul territory to Belfiore.
Boston College posted one run in the top of the seventh, an inning in which the Hokies used four pitchers. The Eagles scored twice more in the eighth, with the help of two hits and a pair of Tech fielding errors.
The finishing touch was made in the final inning by left fielder Mickey Wiswall, who launched a three-run home run to right.
In all, the Eagles scored their 12 runs on 15 hits.
The winning pitcher was Moran – who notched his first victory of the year – while Waskiewicz was tagged with the loss.
Tech will continue its homestand this afternoon as they start a three-game weekend series against the Florida State Seminoles. Today's game starts at 5:30.
