No. 24 Baseball Falls at BC, 1-0

April 17, 2015

Box Score

TECH STARTERS: Spingola/CF, Innis/RF, Gonzalez/LF, Murray/DH, Smith/1B, Bailey/2B, Justus/SS, Pabst/C, Gold/3B, King/SP.

BC STARTERS: Palomaki/3B, Butera/2B, Cronin/1B, Strem/CF, Sciortino/C, Hoggarth/RF, Sauter/DH, Hernandez/LF, Adams/SS, King/SP.

THE BASICS:
· Boston College’s Mike King got the better of a battle of Kings on Friday in the opener of an ACC series at Commander Shea Field in Chestnut Hill, Mass., as the Eagles beat No. 24 Georgia Tech, 1-0.
· BC’s King out-dueled Tech starter Jonathan King in a 1-0 decision that was completed in just one hour and 52 minutes.
· The loss dropped the Yellow Jackets to 24-13 overall and 9-10 in the ACC, while the Eagles improved to 19-18, 7-11.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
· BC strung together three-straight two-out hits to grab a 1-0 lead in the second. Jonny Adams started the rally with an infield single off Jonathan King’s glove, Jake Palomaki followed with a bunt single and Blake Butera’s soft liner to left put the Eagles on the board.
· That was the only damage off King, who allowed just five singles with three strikeouts in his six innings on the mound, but would absorb the tough-to-swallow loss (2-3).
· Tech came up empty after a one-out single from Keenan Innis in the first and couldn’t scratch after Daniel Spingola drew a lead-off walk to begin the fourth.
· Spingola was the last batter to reach off Mike King, who set down the final 17 Jackets in a row for the complete-game victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
· Tech was shutout for the first time this season, thanks to Mike King’s propensity to keeping the Jackets off-balance.
· Rookie slugger Kel Johnson, who suffered a sprained ankle versus North Carolina on March 21, saw his first action since with a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning.
· Matthew Gorst tossed the final two innings for the Jackets and retired six of the seven he faced.

QUOTABLE:
“We had no answer for him (Mike King). In nine innings, we maybe squared two balls up. He was outstanding. And give them credit, they got a two-out hit to score a run and their King made it hold up.”
–Head Coach Danny Hall

UP NEXT: The Yellow Jackets and Eagles continue the three-game series on Saturday in Chestnut Hill. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m.