Boston College Baseball Opens Season With Win Over Seton Hall in Puerto Rico Challenge

The Eagles earned a win on Opening Day over the Pirates in the first day of the Puerto Rico Challenge.

Boston College Athletics / Ethan Roy

The Boston College Eagles (1-0) baseball team picked up an Opening Day win with a 6-4 victory over the Seton Hall Pirates (0-1) in the Puerto Rico Challenge in the early hours of Saturday morning. 

Seton Hall got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning. The Pirates scored one run on an error by Eagles pitcher AJ Colarusso. 

Colarusso bobbled a chopper and tossed it into shallow right field in an attempt to throw it to first base to get the out. 

Pirates shortstop Nick Tomasetto extended Seton Hall’s lead 2-0 later in the inning after the junior batted in a run on a sacrifice fly. 

In total, Colarusso pitched four innings and allowed three hits, two unearned runs, two walks, and struck out five batters. 

Boston College had a few opportunities to get on the board early in the game, but failed to score a run. The Eagles left runners on base in the first three innings, but could not bring a run home. 

The Eagles broke through in the top of the fifth. Shortstop Julio Solier got things going with a leadoff single and was brought home on an RBI double by center fielder Carter Hendrickson to make the score 2-1. 

Hendrickson knotted the contest up at 2 after he stole third and scored on an RBI groundout by first baseman Nick Wang. 

Later in the frame, Boston College took its first lead of the night 3-2 after third baseman Ty Mainolfi scored on a wild pitch. 

In the bottom half of the inning, Seton Hall regained the lead 4-3 on a two-run home run by left fielder Justin Ford. Ford suffered an ankle injury while rounding first base and exited the game. 

The Eagles tied the game up at 4 on back-to-back doubles in the seventh. Hendrickson hit a one-out double down the left field line and Wang brought him home the following at-bat with an RBI double to left as well. 

Eagles designated hitter Kyle Wolff put Boston College back in front 5-4 on a sacrifice fly in the same inning. 

In the eighth, Wang provided Boston College with run support 6-4 on a sacrifice fly. Prior to Wang’s plate appearance, the Eagles loaded the bases on a single by Solier, a walk by Hendrickson, and second baseman Sean Martinez reached on an error by Seton Hall’s third baseman. 

The Pirates had one final chance in the ninth to continue the game. Third baseman Ryan Frontera hit a two-out single, but a strikeout stranded him at first and ended the game. 

Eagles pitchers Cesar Gonzalez and Gavin Soares entered out of the bullpen. Gonzalez was credited with the win. 

Next up, Boston College takes on the Houston Cougars on Saturday afternoon on the second day of the Puerto Rico Challenge. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET on Victory+.