Missed opportunity for softball

BC softball (14-21) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 6th to force extra innings with #17 ranked UMass (21-6), but the Minutemen clubbed a solo homer in the 9th inning to top the Eagles, 4-3.

It was part of an up-and-down day in BC athletics. 

The baseball team bounced back from last night's Beanpot disappointment to throttle Rhode Island, 10-0. Mickey Wiswall hit a 2-run homer and six Eagles pitchers combined to four-hit URI.

Meanwhile, the women's lacrosse team was downed by BU, 13-6.

I'm working on a feature story on new hockey recruit Patrick Wey for EagleInsider.com. I'll post a link as soon as it's up.

Border War

Damn you, mother nature.

Fate did not smile upon BC's stick-and-ball teams in their quest for ACC glory.

In a bizarre interpretation of 'game times subject to change,' the ACC used persistent rain as an excuse to change a double-elimination softball tournament into a single-elimination tournament, retroactively eliminating BC and making their comeback win over Maryland about as irrelevant as yesterday's Liverpool-Tottenham English Premier League match. (2-0 win, Liverpool...huzzah - but not relevant to anything)

It's a sucky way to end a team's season. I know BC probably wasn't going to win the ACC tournament, but anyone who's ever played any sport at any level knows that you approach a single-elimination game a lot differently than a double-elimination game. That's not to say the softballers didn't give max effort against FSU - I'm sure they did - but 'anything goes' when you're facing single elimination. Thus, the mid-tournament change in formats is officially bullcrap of Italian soccer levels. (Wow, two references to another sport that is not relevant to this article - this is turning into a Bill Simmons column. I just need to throw in a Borat reference and a gratuitous shot at BC.)

The baseball team was also hurt by mother nature. Due to a number of rainouts involving ACC competitors Wake Forest and Duke, even if BC sweeps Wake this weekend to equal their number of wins, Wake gets into the tournament with a superior winning percentage. Boooooooo. This one is far less egregious than changing tournament formats in the middle of the tournament, but it still stinks.

But there is still something to play for on the diamond: it's called "Fuck UConn."

At 4 PM today, I will watch my 103rd and probably final live BC sporting event of the year, today's ballgame between the United States of America Eagles and the Communist sUeKKKonn Suckskies. Regional pride is on the line as BC looks to go 2-0 against sueconn.

Personally, since the team can't make the tournament, this will be my last home game of the year, and they are playing EVIL EVIL EVIL ukan't, I am treating this game like a combination of the ACC tournament, the College World Series, Copa America, and the premier of the movie Borat. A good time shall be had by all.

GO EAGLES, UCONN SUCKS!

Everybody wins!

BC softball showed some real promise today at the ACC tournament. Their day started with a heartbreaking extra-innings loss to Florida State this morning, 5-1 in 9 innings. But they bounced back with a come-from-behind 7-3 victory tonight over Maryland, keeping them alive at least until tomorrow. They continue their double-elimination tournament tomorrow at 8 PM vs. the loser of UNC vs. NC State.

The Celtics, the Red Sox, and USA hockey all won too, so... hooray!

Congrats to BC's newest pros-

Congratulations to Matt Ryan (Atlanta), Gosder Cherilus (Detroit), and DeJuan Tribble (San Diego) for being selected in this year's NFL Draft, as well as Kevin Challenger for signing with Calgary of the CFL.

Good luck to Andre Callendar, Jamie Silva, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Johnny Ayers, and any other Eagles trying to latch on to an NFL team as a free agent. Just getting a sniff of the pros is more than 99.9% of athletes can ever imagine.

I have a feeling that despite being the lowest picked, Tribble might have made out the best of all 3. He's going to a great organization in a wonderful city with fantastic weather. Given the choice, I'm not so sure I'd like to live in Atlanta, or play for the train-wreck Detroit Lions franchise.

BC BASEBALL/SOFTBALL

I admit that I haven't really been following baseball/softball since the hockey national title. I've kind of just chilled out and enjoyed the afterglow of that.

The softball team is in the cellar of the ACC (5-13) but they are only 1 game away from jumping up 2 spots to 6th place Maryland. All 8 teams make the tournament.

Baseball just took 1-of-3 from NC State but remains 3.5 games behind Wake Forest for the final ACC tournament spot with 6 conference games to play. It looks like we'll have to wait until next year at Fenway to make our ACC tourney debut.

Baseball has a pair of homestands before the season ends - May 2-4 vs. Maryland and May 11, 13, 15-17 vs. Northeastern, UConn, and Wake Forest.

I won't be able to get to softball's next home game (Wednesday vs. UMass), but they close their season with 3 home games vs. Maryland that will prove critical for tournament positioning: a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game Sunday afternoon.

Three wins

BC women's hockey player Allie Thunstrom scored the winning run in the 5th as the BC softball team took game two of a doubleheader from Holy Cross, 4-3. It was part of a doubleheader sweep, which, combined with the baseball team's simultaneous 11-2 drubbing of the male Crusaders, added up to a very productive day for the maroon and gold.

Freshman Allison Gage was extremely impressive for BC in game two, coming in to relieve Savanna Lloyd in the 3rd and going on to pitch shutout ball for the rest of the game. Taylor Peyton got the job done (as usual) in game one. Renee Ramos cranked a home run in game 2 for BC.

The baseball game featured more heavy hitting by the Eagles. BC put together an 8-run 6th, including back to back dongs by Tony Sanchez and Eric Campbell, to put the game out of reach. Kevin Moran pitched 5 innings and gave up 2 runs to earn the victory.

I had far too much fun during the softball game, as my friend Grant had a very typical Grant moment.

Holy Cross rightfielder Elizabeth Foley had a little incident in the 2nd inning, as she crashed into (and knocked over) the fence along the first base line in a valiant attempt to catch a foul ball.

Our seats were probably about 15-25 feet from the right fielder, and Grant, forgetting this, later said in a very normal, conversational tone of voice, "hey fence girl, you crashed into the fence." Foley heard and looked over in our direction, and Grant immediately said "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." She later gave a smile and a nod.

Maybe you had to be there.

Softball got the win in game 2.....

I am so adding that to my tally. :)

First look at baseball

Going to the ballgame today was not nearly as relaxing as I'd hoped (I spent most of it pacing around, trying to get comfortable, and my hands are still defrosting), but it was fun to watch the Eagles cruise to a 7-1 victory over the Hartford Hawks, fueled by a 4-run 3rd in which Hartford's pitcher just couldn't find the strike zone.

Freshman John Leonard got the start and did an excellent job for BC, giving up a run in the first before pitching (I believe) six strong innings and earning the win. Then, Ted Ratliff came in and did the rest.

Two really basic observations:
-The team can hit the ball. They've got some players with nice looking swings, particularly Campbell and Belifori. Shaughnessy had a nice 2RBI single in the 3rd. They are going to continue to be fun to watch offensively.
-They run into a ton of outs on the basepaths. I noticed that this was a problem last year, as well, and it continued today - I recall three times off the top of my head that a BC player was thrown out for trying to sneak an extra base. There is nothing statistically worse in baseball than giving away free outs via poor baserunning (see: Emil Brown for the Oakland A's today). I hope this problem gets fixed before ACC play picks up.

The baseballers have Holy Cross at home tomorrow, then welcome the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to Shea on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'll be at the Cross game with camera in tow. I probably won't be at any of the GT games as I'll be watching hours and hours of college hockey. Next Tuesday, BC is at Northeastern, and I'll probably make an effort to be there.

While down at Shea, I also was able to run over and catch the last inning of the first softball game between BC and St. Peter's. BC edged St. P 3-2 to improve to 15-15; Taylor Peyton closed it out by forcing a pop out with the bases loaded and 2 outs. A narrow escape indeed.

When I left to get ready for intramural hockey, BC was up 2-0 in game 2, looking for its second consecutive doubleheader sweep over subpar competition (they swept Sacred Heart over the weekend).

Speaking of intramural hockey, I have to go get suited up now. Woo hoo.

BC men's hockey recovers with a nice 5-2 win at Lowell

If you didn't see the game, or read about it - Lowell jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one, but BC stormed back with 3 in the 2nd (Bertram, Ferriero, Smith) and 2 in the 3rd (Kucharski, Smith) to win the game. Total domination in the final 40 minutes. The split with Lowell, combined with losses by PC and NU, moves BC back into sole possession of 2nd place in Hockey East going into next week's monster series against UNH.

Here's my recap, from EagleAction:

*

Well, those final 40 minutes were the BC team we know and love. But after the first 20, I was wondering if we could retroactively give the Beanpot to BU.

First period was a total lockdown by UML who outshot BC 9-2. It was a continuation of all the concerns we've had about the team: a slow start, shaky goaltending
(Muse should have had that first goal, it squeezed through him and rolled in), poor transition passing, taking penalties, and not killing off said penalties.

Bertram got it turned around with a goal that took a weird hop, skip and a jump past Hamilton - whatever it takes to get Dan on the scoresheet.

The 5 minute hitting from behind call on Schaus was the right call - I wonder if they were targeting Kucharski? If so, Blaise should be getting a call from Mr. Bertagna. It was pretty upsetting to see BC waste 2 minutes of the 5 minute power play by taking a penalty, but it was the right play to make as Lowell had a good shorthanded chance.

Once Ferriero scored to tie the game, it was all BC. It was nice to see Smith score twice and it was even cooler to see Kucharski get on the board. I really like that Kucharski-Lombardi-Orpik combo.

We're going to need Smith, Bertram and Ferriero to really crank it up if we're going to make a run in NCAAs, as teams will try to neutralize Gerbe.

We'll find out next week how we stack up with one of the best teams in the country.


*

Lowell's Tsongas Arena is really nice (pics coming tomorrow). BC had a really big turnout, as usual, and the place was quite full (5,000+).

UML's band is one of the better bands in Hockey East. They have guitar and bass in their pep band... really odd. But they rock out for having such a small band.

On the other hand, UMLs student section might be the only one that is lamer than ours. They don't stand, many of them don't wear Lowell apparel, and the best they could muster up was a "BC sucks" chant, which I didn't hear much of in the 2nd or 3rd periods. :)

I can't wait for the UNH series. It's gonna be epic.

Speaking of epic, Women's hockey's epic meltdown continued last night with a loss against a pathetic Maine team that almost sinks their chances at making the Hockey East playoffs, barring a miraculous turnaround wherein BC goes 5-0 in their final 5. Since the Eagles' longest winning streak this year is 3, it's safe to say that that probably will not happen.

Quick hits-

MBB plays at home against UVA at 1 PM (game will be broadcast on TV38).

WBB hosts Georgia Tech tomorrow night at Conte in the "Think Pink" game.

Softball recovered from an 0-2 start to their weekend by sweeping Maine and Ohio at the ECU Pirate Invitational. They are now 2-2, with 5 games coming up next weekend in Fort Myers, FL., against St. Bonaventure, Florida Gulf Coast (twice), South Dakota State, and Western Carolina.

Interesting weekend ahead

I'm not going to blame Beanpot bliss for the fact that I'm still awake at 4:57 AM eastern time studying for an exam and working on a paper. [I kind of enjoy these nights in a strange sort of way; one of the odd joys of being a college student is that you can occasionally watch both the sunset and the sunrise from the same spot, without going to sleep in between. Also, the adrenaline rush that comes from finally being almost done with a paper in the wee hours of the morning is pretty sweet.]

Instead, I'll blame my ability to get distracted. Here are my thoughts on an interesting weekend coming up in the world of BC athletics:

Men's Basketball
-The men's basketball team has ACC games tonight and Sunday, against NC State and Virginia. Can they build off of their encouraging performance against Duke? Virginia is atrocious (1-9 in conference) and NC State is beatable (4-5). I'm actually feeling pretty optimistic about BC's chances for two wins. A lot of bad breaks have contributed to BC's losing streak. I think we'll end up going 4-3 the rest of the way, which should be good enough to make the NIT with one win in the ACC tournament - which was all I expected out of this season.

-I won't be attending either game thanks to BC's stupid student ticketing policy. Needless to say, there will be hundreds of empty student seats; none of these students will think of giving their tickets away to people who want to go, of course. It's probably a blessing in disguise: with today being Valentine's Day, I'd probably be in Le Chateau Bow-Wow with the Lady if I blew it off for a basketball game.

-Tonight's game is being broadcast live on ESPN at 7 PM.

Women's Basketball
-Don't expect much tonight as BC plays at Maryland in what will almost definitely be their third consecutive conference loss. Once this game is over, BC's ACC record will be 5-5, which is still far better than one would have predicted going into this year.

-If you're really interested in watching the slaughter, the game will be on ACC Select.

-Although I'm doomy-and-gloomy about the Maryland game, I still think BC has a reasonable chance to make the NCAA Tournament. Although it would be very tough to pull off, going 3-1 after the Maryland game and getting to 20 wins is wholly within the realm of possibility. BC plays GT (5-5) at home on Monday night in what will be a make or break game, before going to FSU (5-4), facing UVA (6-2) at home on Senior night, then trekking to Miami (2-7) to close the regular season. If BC gets to 20, one win in the ACC tournament could get the Eagles in.

-The top 4 teams in the ACC are pretty clearly defined (UNC, Maryland, Duke, Virginia), but there's no reason to believe that BC isn't in the mix to be the 5th best. They took it on the chin against NC State, but that was in front of a packed house against an inspired team playing for head coach and cancer survivor Kay Yow on 'think pink' day. Sometimes, emotion can carry the day.

Men's Hockey
-There's no time for a Beanpot hangover as the Eagles resume the Hockey East regular season title chase with a home-and-home against UMass-Lowell, Friday night at Conte Forum and Saturday night at Lowell's Tsongas Arena.

-Things have changed quite a bit since the last time these two teams got together. UML has gone from #12 to 'freefall' in no time, and many of Lowell's fans are predicting a bloodbath and a BC sweep. I say not so fast. If the two Beanpot games ended after 5 minutes in overtime, BC's record would be 1-1-2 in the last four games against a not-so-impressive slate consisting of Providence, BU, UMass and Harvard. Winning the Beanpot is nice, but BC has a lot of work to do if they're going to contend for the big trophies this season.

-Look to see how John Muse recovers after having by far his worst outing as an Eagle on Monday night. His two biggest problems were rebounds and going down to the ice early and often. Rebounds have been an issue all year, but his quick drops to the ice are a recent phenomenon; hopefully, it can be chalked up to big-game nerves and Muse will return to form this weekend.

-BC is 5 points behind UNH with 8 games to play in the regular season. UNH plays a pretty tough Providence team this weekend. Hopefully the Friars can steal a game, the Eagles can sweep, and BC can go into next weekend's home-and-home down three points.

-For what it's worth: if the season ended today, BC would be playing Lowell in the playoffs. So pay attention to these matchups.

-Remaining schedule (a home and home each weekend for the next 4 weeks): UMass-Lowell, UNH, Providence, Northeastern

Women's Hockey
-BC looked pretty lethargic in Tuesday's 2-1 consolation game victory over Northeastern, but to be fair, it was the Women's Beanpot 3rd place game in front of about 15 fans. I'm just glad to have finally beaten Northeastern.

-The Eagles ship up to Orono, Maine this weekend for a two game set with the dreadful Maine Black Bears. My good friends and fellow BC fanatics Grant and Mike will be making the weekend trip, but I decided to pass on this one.

-Speaking of the Maine series: it's a big one. The task ahead of BC is tough - they pretty much have to go 5-1 in their remaining games to have a shot at making the Hockey East playoffs. It needs to start with two wins against Maine.

-BC's last game against Maine resulted in a narrow 3-2 win at home on October 27. BC outshot Maine 29-17, but gave the Bears the advantage of 6 power plays (something that has been a recurring problem for the Eagles). Look for a better performance this weekend from BC. I'm fairly confident (but not overconfident) that BC will sweep. They had better.

-Remaining schedule: two @ Maine, home-and-home vs. BU, home-and-home vs. PC

-With 6 games to play, the Hockey East Standings look like this (top 4 make the playoffs):

1. UNH 29 pts
2. UConn 21
3. PC 18
4. BU 17
5. BC 14
6. NU 11
7. Maine 7
8. Vermont 3

Needless to say, the team's margin of error is almost nonexistent. I'm cautiously hopeful, but realistic.

Softball

-I had no idea about this until I checked BCEagles.com this morning, but the softball team starts its season tomorrow with two games in North Carolina - one against Ohio at 10 AM and one against East Carolina at 2 PM.

-I have no idea how the team is supposed to be this year, but I'd imagine that the forecast calls for: pain. I just hope we beat BU.