Troy Wins Wild NCAA Opener Over No. 24 Boston College

Friday, June 2

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

2 p.m.

Troy University

40-20

Boston College

35-19

Troy

Boston College

Troy Wins Wild NCAA Opener Over No. 24 Boston College

6/2/2023 8:38:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Troy hit two home runs in a 5-run fifth inning and held off several late rallies to defeat No. 24 Boston College, 11-10, in the opening round of the Tuscaloosa Regional at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Friday. The Trojans scored eight runs on seven hits in the final three innings of the game.

The win is Troy's fourth straight to open an NCAA Regional dating back to 2011, all as a No. 3 seed, and sets up a date with either Alabama or Nicholls State on Saturday at 8 p.m.

"Just an incredible game," Troy head coach Skylar Meade said. "That was two teams that I truly believe can compete at the highest level. Boston College competes as well as anyone we've seen, and it was just an awesome battle."

Troy (40-20) entered the seventh inning without a run and just two hits since a 3-run opening frame. Kyle Mock started the rally with a 1-out double, and Clay Stearns reached on an error to flip the lineup back to the top, where Kole Myers left no doubt with a towering 3-run bomb, his 12^th of the season.

Ethan Kavanagh was then hit by a 2-2 offering, and Caleb Bartolero tattooed the first pitch he saw from Joey Ryan deep over the wall in left field to cap the 5-run frame and put Troy in front, 8-4.

The Eagles got two back in the home half of the seventh on a 2-run double by Sam McNulty before Zach Fruit came out of the pen to stem the flow.

The Trojans answered back with two in the top of the eighth on a Stearns double and Myers single, but Boston College showed why they were in consideration to be Regional host in the bottom of the eighth as Joe Vetrano hit a 3-run homer to trim the Troy lead to one, 10-9.

Tremayne Cobb Jr., hit Troy's third home run of the game, a 2-out blast in the top of the ninth inning, which proved to be a pivotal insurance run, as the Eagles loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Boston College pulled within one on a sacrifice fly; however, Fruit retired the next two batters thanks to perfectly positioned Troy defenders for his fifth save of the season.

Myers and Bartolero drove in four runs each for the Trojans, while Myers added a SportsCenter-worthy catch in center field to rob extra bases in the fifth inning.

With the game tied at 3-all in the bottom of the second, a brief rainstorm hammered the area. The 20-minute rainstorm resulted in a 2:19-minute delay after the field took a considerable amount of rain before the tarp could cover the infield.

The delay burned both teams' starters, and Ben Thompson (6-3) came out of the Troy bullpen and provided the Trojans with 4.2 stellar innings to pick up the win. The fire-baller struck out seven and allowed just one run, a fifth-inning home run by Vetrano, providing needed length with the bullpen having to record 23 outs.

Troy came out firing in the top of the first, with the first four batters reaching off Boston College starter John West. Bartolero cashed in a Myers walk and Kavanagh single with his 18^th double of the season and 51^st of his career to put the Trojans up 2-0. After advancing to third on the late throw home to try and nab Kavanagh, Bartolero scored on a deep sac fly from Donovan Whibbs.

Boston College (35-19) got on the board with an RBI grounder by Patrick Roche in the first and tied the game in the second on a 2-run Barry Walsh home run immediately before the pop-up storm changed the course of the day.

McNulty was 4-for-4 from the 8-hole in the lineup to lead the Eagles, while Walsh added three hits. Ryan (1-1) was charged for the loss for Boston College after giving up four runs – three earned – without recording an out.