Boston College hit five home runs as the Eagles pulled away for a 14-6 win over Nicholls State in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon at the Tuscaloosa regional in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Joe Vetrano hit one of three three-run homers for Boston College, and also had a solo blast. The Eagles advance to play the loser of Saturday night’s game between Troy and Alabama.
Nicholls (34-24), which won the Southland Conference’s regular season and tournament titles for the first time in the same season, fell to 0-8 all-time in NCAA regional play.
Nicholls finished with 15 hits, but Garrett Felix’ ninth-inning home run was the Colonels’ only extra-base hit.
The game changed in the top of the fifth inning when Boston College (36-19) hit two homers and scored five runs. Nicholls, which used nine pitchers in the game, brought in five arms during the at-bat as it tried to slow the second-seeded Eagles down.
Boston College took a 3-0 lead on Sam McNulty’s three-run homer in the second inning. The Eagles had chances for more, but had a runner thrown out at home plate in the second and third innings.
Nicholls battled back to tie the game. Wes Toups drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly in the second. An error by Eagles left fielder Daniel Baruch helped the Colonels pick up a pair of unearned runs in the third before Boston College heated up again.
Joe Vetrano’s solo homer in the fourth put the Eagles on top 4-3. In the fifth, Baruch led off with a homer and Nick Wang added a three-run blast, all part of a five-run uprising that left the Eagles with a 9-3 lead.