Eagles Get the Best of Tulane in Opening Weekend

Birdball got the 2010 campaign off to a promising start, as they knocked off the Tulane Green Wave two out of three games this past weekend. BC beat their counterparts in the first two games of the series, but was unable to finalize the sweep on Sunday.

The season officially opened on Friday. Mik Aoki’s boys dropped Tulane 8-5. Junior pitcher Pat Dean registered the win and went seven innings to do so. He struck out seven Wave batters. While the main question for this year’s Eagles may be the bullpen, it was good enough to protect the six-run lead it was handed. Dean figures to be a solid top of the rotation guy, but the depth of the bullpen may be a problem.

The offensive surge was led by two local ballplayers. John Spatola, a Roxbury Latin grad, and Anthony Melchionda, a Thayer Academy grad, drove the offensive charge on Friday. Spatola, a senior captain outfielder, went 3-4 with a solo jack and crossed the plate another time as well. Melchionda, a sophomore infielder drove in four Eagles, which accounted for half of the Eagles’ runs. The two ISL boys went back-to-back in the opening frame. That set the mood for the rest of the day, and the success carried into Saturday.

Things were not as close on Saturday, as the Eagles shutout Tulane, 12-0. Sophomore Mike Dennhardt tossed a gem, going seven scoreless innings and only giving up two hits. While he walked five people, he kept any Tulane player from crossing home plate, which is the most you can ask of a pitcher.

Leadoff man Robbie Anston was the number-one star of the game, going 4-5 with a triple, double and three ribbies. Freshman catcher Matt Watson also provided a spark as he crushed a three-run bomb into the New Orleans distance. Another ISL grad Micky Wiswall, a preseason All-American, added further cushion to the lead as he dropped his own three-run homer. Wiswall extended the lead to twelve, and the Eagles wrapped things up, looking for a sweep.

The Eagles were unable to keep riding the wave on Sunday though, as they got seriously roughed up and were on the bad side of a 14-6 romp. Freshman pitcher Anthony Del Colle had a tough debut as he was unable to escape the first inning. Tulane posted seven up on their Turchin Stadium scoreboard in the bottom of the first.

Things did not get a whole lot better from there, as they were unable to ever make a game of it. Melchionda and Spatola each had another standout game. Melchionda went 2-2 with two RBIs, while Spatola went gonzo for the second time in the weekend. Matt Watson also had another solid game. The freshman definitely has some pop in his aluminum lumber. Watson went 2-2 with a run scored.

While Sunday put a damper on things, the weekend was definitely positive overall. Anytime you can knock off Tulane 2-3 times is a good thing. Especially since the Eagles’ have been hindered by being caged up in the bubble, while Tulane has been basking in the Louisiana sunshine.

Next week is another big week for BC as they’ll head down to Alabama and take on Auburn, Florida Atlantic and Missouri. Hopefully they will thrive while on Spring Break and keep things heading in the right direction.

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