Boston College 12, Miami 11: A Late Rally Just Falls Short for the Hurricanes on Friday Night

The Miami Hurricanes lost the opening game of their ACC schedule on Friday night against Boston College. Miami entered the ninth inning trailing 12-6 on Friday, and came within ninety feet of tying the game, but Miami wasn’t able to score the tying run and lost 12-11 to make the Hurricanes 9-4 (0-1 ACC) on the season.

Boston College got out to a good start on Friday night, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. A walk opened the game before a double gave the Eagles two runners in scoring position. A three-run home run from Luke Gold then opened the scoring and made it a 3-0 game after three outs.

The Hurricanes responded in the bottom of the second with a two-out rally. Yohandy Morales singled to start the rally before a Maxwell Romero double down the right field line scored the first run of the game for Miami. After a Carlos Perez walk, an RBI-double from Dorian Gonzalez scored the second run of the inning to make the score 3-2 heading to the second inning.

In the top of the second Boston College put together another rally. A four base error on a dropped flyout scored the first run of the inning, before back-to-back singles gave the Eagles two runners on base. Miami starter Carson Palmquist recovered to record a strikeout for the first out of the inning, but a three-run home run from Cameron Leary made the score 7-2 before the bottom of the second.

Miami responded yet again in the bottom of the inning. A Dominic Pitelli solo home run scored the first run of the second for the Hurricanes before a CJ Kayfus single and a Jacob Burke walk gave Miami the opportunity to add another run. Maxwell Romero took advantage, hitting a single to score Kayfus and add his second RBI of the game.

In the bottom of the third inning, Miami nearly tied the game, bringing CJ Kayfus to the plate with two men on base as the tying run. Kayfus nearly made the score 7-7, but a home run saving catch from Barry Walsh kept the Eagles in the lead.

Boston College added five runs over the next three innings. A Cameron Leary solo home run, his second of the game, added the first insurance run for BC, before two singles and an error loaded the bases for the Eagles. The ninth run of the game scored on a fielder’s choice before an extra-base hit added the third insurance run. In the top of the fifth a single and a double scored a run, before a sixth inning home run from Luke Gold, who also hit his second of the game, made the score 12-4. The runs proved to be costly for Miami, as Boston College would need all of them to survive a late-innings comeback attempt from the Hurricanes.

Miami’s comeback attempt started in the bottom of the seventh, when Dorian Gonzalez singled to set up a two-run home run from Edgardo Villegas, his career first, that made the score 12-6.

A five-run bottom of the ninth brought the Hurricanes within reach of a miracle. Dorian Gonzalez led off the inning with a double before Edgardo Villegas drove him in with a single. Mike Rosario doubled to give the Hurricanes two runners in scoring position before a two-run double from CJ Kayfus made the score 12-9 with one out. A Jacob Burke single gave Miami runners on the corners and brought the tying run to the plate, and Yohandy Morales doubled to score a run and put the tying run in scoring position. A sac-fly from Maxwell Romero moved the game-tying runner, Morales, ninety feet from home, but a strikeout ended the game with the final score at 12-11.

After the loss Miami will hope to tie up the series on Saturday night with freshman Karson Ligon on the mound. Ligon was excellent in his first two starts against FAU and Florida, and will hope continue the great start to his college career in his first ACC start against Boston College. First pitch of the second game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on the ACC Network.

Game Info

Winning Pitcher: John West (1-1, 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K)

Losing Pitcher: Carson Palmquist (3-1, 3.2 IP, 9 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 2 K)

Save: None