Birdball Loss Headlines Tough Day for BC Athletics
By Anthony Iati
Within the span of about two hours, Boston College Athletics saw numerous disappointing results occur for their Eagles. On Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Shea Field, BC Baseball dropped a close game, 3-0, to the defending national champion Virginia Cavaliers. Junior right-hander Connor Jones tossed a gem for UVA, throwing a complete game, 1-hit shutout to stifle the Eagles. Jones, a projected top 10 pick in June’s MLB Draft, threw 116 pitches and struck out Donovan Casey, representing the tying run at the plate, to finish the game. Casey had previously managed the only hit of the day for Eagles.
Virginia scratched out a run in the 3rd off Jacob Stevens on Daniel Pinero’s bases-loaded walk. Stevens pitched a brilliant 6 innings of his own 1-hit ball, striking out six. The Cavaliers tacked on insurance in the 9th, with the last two runs being charged to Bobby Skogsbergh. Southpaw Kevin Connor and righty John Nicklas relieved Skogsbergh in the 9th. The Eagles fell to 14-11, 3-8 in the ACC, while Virginia advanced to 20-12, 7-6 in the conference. The teams will meet again tomorrow at 1:30 pm. The pitching matchup features RHP Justin Dunn for Boston College and LHP Adam Haseley for Virginia. You can hear the game live on WZBC Newton 90.3 FM and wzbc.org. Conor Hawley, Quinn Kelly, and Anthony Iati will have the call.
Shortly after the end of Birdball’s loss, sources confirmed BC Hockey defenseman Steve Santini will be departing the Eagles in favor of signing a 3-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Santini, a junior, won the Hockey East’s award for top defensive defenseman this year and added 1 goal and 19 assists offensively in 41 games. He is forgoing his senior year on the Heights and is expected to quickly make his NHL debut on Saturday, April 9, when the Devils finish their season against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Newark, NJ.
Sources then reported Santini’s teammate at BC, forward Miles Wood, may soon be his NHL teammate with the Devils. Wood, a 4th-round pick of New Jersey in 2013, is reportedly also signing an entry-level deal. It is interesting to note that the Devils’ general manager is Ray Shero, father of BC forward Chris Shero. The elder Shero likely saw lots of Santini and Wood this year.
On top of all that, BC goaltender Thatcher Demko did not win the Hobey Baker Award. At the award ceremony in Tampa, Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey was deservedly awarded the Hobey Baker trophy. Demko finished as a finalist/runner-up. It is the third straight season in which a Beanpot school player has won the award: Johnny Gaudreau of BC in 2014, Jack Eichel of Boston University in 2015, Vesey of Harvard in 2016. On the plus side, Demko did win the third edition of the Mike Richter Award for being the nation’s top goaltender.
Vesey recently made headlines for his decision to forgo the Nashville Predators’ offer and become a free agent. The Predators had very high hopes for Vesey after drafting him four years ago, but they will get no return on their investment. Meanwhile, Jerry York & Co. will wait and see if more of their own players, including Demko, follow in Santini’s footsteps and jump to the pros, or stay another year at Boston College.