The Jackets swept the Boston College Golden Eagles for the first time in the history of the series over the weekend up in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
After the first game was rained out, the Jackets and the Golden Eagles were forced to play a doubleheader on Saturday.
In the opening game of the series, behind junior pitcher David Duncan’s strong performance, the Jackets won 5-2. Duncan pitched eight innings and struck out ten batters while giving up just four hits. He gave up just one hit in his first six innings pitched.
Tech scored two runs in the second inning to lead off the scoring. Junior Jason Haniger was hit by the pitch with the bases loaded and junior Chris House’s sacrifice fly scored in another runner.
Freshman Derek Dietrich helped Tech pad the lead when he hit for a solo home run in the next inning. The Jackets scored a total of five runs on just two hits to cruise to the victory.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Jackets offensive lineup led the team to a 13-2 victory over the Golden Eagles. Haniger and Dietrich each picked-up three hits.
Freshman Jeff Rowland got things started with a single and two steals in the first inning to score the first run. Blackmon followed suit after a Dietrich double.
Solid pitching held the game tied at two apiece going into the seventh inning. The Jackets then opened up the game and all but assured their victory when Haniger led off the offensive explosion with a triple and later scored on a sacrifice fly. After Boston College committed three consecutive walks to load the bases, Senior Brad Feltes crushed the ball beyond the fences for a grand slam. Haniger took advantage of the momentum by hitting a two-run double for his second at-bat of the inning.
The Jackets continued their offensive production into the eighth. Feltes swung for a second double of the game. Haniger and Rowland finished off the game with back-to-back doubles in the final inning.
Starting pitcher junior Eddie Burns ran into brief trouble when he gave up a couple of runs early in the game. However, he regrouped and with run-support from the offense, gained his fourth win of the season and improved to 4-1.
In the third game, Tech won 3-2 and closed out the sweep of Boston College. Sophomore Zach Von Tersch earned his third win of the season after 6 and 1/3 strong innings and three strike-outs. The bullpen stepped up, with sophomore Andrew Robinson coming into the game in the seventh and Brad Rulon picking up the save. Robinson worked around the batters to get out of a tight bases-loaded jam in the seventh. Senior Brad Rulon took the mound in the ninth and forced three consecutive outs to seal the win.
Dietrich, House and Thomas Nichols drove in the three runs for Tech in the defense oriented game. Dietrich’s RBI-double brought in the first run of the game. Sophomore Tony Plagman took advantage of a walk and a wild pitch during the second inning by stealing a base and scoring on a House sacrifice fly. Nichols contributed two hits, including a RBI-single.
The Jackets next travel on the road to play ACC rival and No. 3 North Carolina this weekend before returning home to host Georgia on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Russ Chandler Stadium.