Wake Forest University
Boston College
Rodriguez Hits Walk-Off to Beat Boston College
4/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By Jay Garneau, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeBaseball)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest earned its first walkoff win of the 2015 campaign, as Joey Rodriguez delievered the game-winner in the ninth inning of a 4-3 victory over Boston College at Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park on Friday night.
Nick Bisplinghoff led off the ninth with a double and advanced to third when he beat the throw on a Drew Freedman sacrifice. Then, Rodriguez drilled a 1-1 pitch into the right-center gap to claim the win for Wake Forest (20-12, 7-6 ACC).
Boston College (12-15, 4-8 ACC) had trailed by a 3-0 score, but scored runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to tie the game at 3-3.
The Demon Deacons plated a pair of runs in the first inning on an RBI single from Will Craig and run-scoring ground-rule double from Stuart Fairchild.
Nate Mondou golfed his seventh longball of the season over the right-field wall in the fifth to extend the lead to 3-0.
Matt Pirro departed after 5.0 scoreless innings in line for the win, allowing just two hits.
But the Eagles clawed back, manufacturing a run in the sixth on a single, groundout and another single to make the score 3-1.
Michael Strem delivered a solo homer in the seventh to cut the margin to 3-2.
Boston College tied the game with an unearned run in the eighth. Joe Cronin led off with a single and advanced to third on a throwing error and sacrifice bunt, scoring on a Blake Butera single.
The Eagles put two more runners on in the ninth, but Parker Dunshee tallied an inning-ending strikeout to escape.
Dunshee (5-0) earned the win in relief, allowing one unearned run in 2.1 innings, striking out four.
Jesse Adams (1-2) was the tough-luck loser for Boston College. He kept the Eagles in the game after starter Jeff Burke left with an injury in the third. Adams struck out six and allowed two hits in 5.1 innings.
Rodriguez, Fairchild and Bisplinghoff had two hits apiece to lead the Demon Deacon offense.
DOUBLE DIGITS
• Stuart Fairchild, Will Craig and Nate Mondou each extended their double-digit hitting streaks.
• Fairchild had two hits to push his streak to 14 games, while Craig and Mondou recorded one apiece to hit safely for the 12th consecutive contest.
LATE-GAME DRAMA
• This was the first game Wake Forest has played in this season to be decided on the last at-bat.
• The Demon Deacons are no strangers to the drama, though, winning five games in walk-off fashion a season ago.
• Wake Forest improves to 4-0 in one-run games this season, and 5-0 in contests decided by two runs or less.
ON DECK
• Wake Forest and Boston College will battle two more times this weekend, beginning Saturday at 4 p.m., followed by the finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
