Boston College's Big Sixth Inning Propels Them Past Cal
In an exciting matchup at Chestnut Hill, Boston College Baseball (15-8, 5-3 ACC) took down Cal (13-10, 0-5 ACC) with a 9-6 victory in the second game of their weekend series.
Starting on the mound for the Eagles, Tyler Mudd delivered three innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out two. John D Mitchell followed, pitching 2.2 innings and giving up two earned runs with a single strikeout.
Luke D'Ancona added an inning and a third of relief, allowing one earned run and striking out one. The game was closed out by Kyle Kipp, who earned the save with two scoreless innings, striking out one.
Cal jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. With runners on second and third, their third batter launched a 358-foot homer to left field, quickly putting three runs on the board.
Boston College responded in the bottom of the inning. Ty Mainolfi reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on a balk, and was brought home by Jack Toomey's double.
Cal extended their lead in the fourth inning. After Mitchell secured two outs, a wild pitch advanced a runner to second, who then scored on a single to make it 4-1. The Golden Bears added another run in the fifth with a solo home run that traveled 426 feet, pushing their lead to 5-1.
The game turned in the sixth inning when Boston College erupted for eight runs. Julio Solier started with a walk and scored on Mainolfi's double. With the bases loaded, Danny Surowiec smashed his first career home run, a 428-foot shot to left field, giving the Eagles a 6-5 lead.
Boston College kept the momentum, reloading the bases and scoring again on a walk to Solier. Mainolfi then delivered a sacrifice fly, bringing in two more runs and extending the lead to 9-5.
Cal fought back with their third homer of the day in the seventh, a 381-foot shot, narrowing the gap to 9-6.
Kipp faced a tense moment in the eighth with runners on second and third and just one out. He skillfully navigated the jam with a strikeout and a groundout, then wrapped up the game with a perfect ninth inning to secure the win.
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