Eagles Fly South for a Sweep

Birdball flew down to Raleigh, North Carolina, and swept the NC State Wolfpack this past weekend. It was a pivotal weekend for the Eagles, as they were neck-and-neck with their ACC counterpart heading into the three-game series.

Mik Aoki and his crew got things rolling on Friday night as they dropped NC State 9-5. The Eagles fell down by three right off the bat, but came back swinging, led by senior captain John Spatola and Robbie Anston. Spatsy hit a three-run bomb and added two more hits later. Anston was a monster and responsible for six runs.

Starting pitcher Pat Dean could only go four innings as he struggled. Dean gave up four runs to Russell Wilson and crew. Lasko bailed Dean with a solid four-inning relief appearance. Lasko got the W, which gave the Eagles the twenty-first victory of the season.

The Eagles picked up Saturday where they left off on Friday. BC got up 7-3 and held a comfortable lead until the seventh inning. The boys in maroon and gold let the Wolfpack back into the game and then some. They gave up the lead and fell down 8-7, but made up for it by scoring three runs in the top of the ninth to take a 10-8 lead that they would hold on to. Robbie Anston had another big day for the Eagles as he drove in the game-winning runs with a line-drive single in the ninth.

Two local Independent School League products, Micky Wiswal and Anthony Melchionda, also had big days on Saturday, combining for six hits. Dennhardt and Brazis (got the win) combined to pick up the Eagles second win of the weekend.

BC didn’t stop there. The team made the most out of its southern excursion by completing the sweep on Sunday afternoon. It was an up-and-down game, but the Eagles sealed the deal with an 11-10 victory.

The Eagles were off to a hot start on Sunday, taking a 6-2 advantage before things got a bit dicey. NC State scored five unanswered runs, capitalizing on some poor defense by the Eagles. BC battled back all day long though, as Robbie Anston kept his hot streak going, tying things up with a solo shot in the eighth. BC was not content though, and freshman slugger Matt Watson roped a triple down the right field line, scoring Spatola to take an 8-7 lead.

The Eagles added one more run, before forfeiting two up to NCSU in the bottom half of the inning. The teams traded runs back and forth all day long. BC finally got up for good in the top of the ninth, as Garrett Smith singled in a run. Moran shut the Wolfpack out and secured the sweep for the Eagles. While there have been bullpen troubles all season long, BC overcame those struggles this weekend and had a great, clutch weekend.

They are now tied with Clemson for the division lead, not too shabby.

Anston, senior center fielder, who was a huge key to the Eagles’ sweep over the Wolfpack to tie Clemson for the division lead, was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Week for his outstanding playing, as well as clutch performances. He had three hits in each game against NC State and is on a 9-game hitting streak. In Friday’s game, he was responsible for six of the nine BC runs, scoring three and driving in three. He drove in the game-winning runs on Saturday, and hit a solo homerun on Sunday to tie the game up before the go-ahead runs. For the week that he received the honors, he led the Eagles in batting (.545), runs (9), hits (12), doubles (3), homers (2), RBI (9), total bases (23) and slugging (1.045).

The Eagles will next play Quinnipiac in Chestnut Hill at 3 p.m. on Tuesday before heading to Dartmouth on Wednesday.

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