The Boston College Eagles are in the midst of one of their best seasons in recent memory, owning a 24-11 record including 9-9 in conference play as we enter the middle of April. In the most recent rankings, the Eagles find themselves 20th in the country, nine spots down from their last spot at No.11 after going 3-2 this past week, their two losses coming to the Duke Blue Devils over the weekend.
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There’s no doubt this has been one of the best teams for the program in quite a while and is on track for its first winning season since 2019. That being said while staying above .500 is certainly a goal, the Eagles also surely have bigger goals in mind. If they’re going to achieve those goals, however, they’ll need to play their best baseball of the year, as their biggest test is still ahead of them over the last month of the regular season. Massachusetts sportsbook promos will have all the promo codes you need to get in on the action as Boston College continues to climb the rankings.
It will be a tough next few weeks, however. Starting this week, they’ll take on the UConn Huskies on Wednesday, April 19. The Huskies have been great all season with a 26-9 record, good enough to find them ranked 15th in the country heading into this week. Notably, the Huskies have been solid away from home this season with a 13-6 record.
After facing one top-25 team, Boston College will travel to Chapel Hill to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels, the No.18 team in the country according to D1Baseball.com. The Tar Heels are 24-12 on the season but had a tough weekend, losing two of three games to the Miami Hurricanes while pulling out a win in dramatic fashion 9-8 in extra innings. The Tar Heels this season are stronger than their record would indicate, owning a .285 team batting average and a 4.25 team ERA. They have been very strong at home this year with an 18-8 record - making this an even tougher matchup for Boston College.
Following their pivotal ACC series against North Carolina, they’ll return to New England to take on Rhode Island in South Kingstown before hosting UMass Lowell on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Both should provide easier matchups though Rhode Island is a quality team at 16-16 on the year and UMass-Lowell on the other hand is 11-21.
After hosting Rhode Island and Umass Lowell, they’ll then host the Clemson Tigers for a three-game series to finish off their homestand. The Tigers have been a quality team this year with a 22-15 overall record but are just 6-9 in conference play. They’ve had some success on the road as well with a 5-4 record.
Once the Tigers are behind him, the Eagles will take on Bryant and Merrimack for midweek matchups on May 2 and May 3. Neither Bryant nor Merrimack has been good this season, Bryant owning a 15-16 record while Merrimack is struggling mightily with an 8-22 record.
Their toughest remaining matchup, however, will happen just after those midweek affairs as they host the current No.2 team in the country, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Demon Deacons are 31-5 this season including 14-2 in ACC play. They’ve been nearly impossible to beat at home with a 20-1 record while on the road, they haven’t been too much easier to beat owning an 11-4 record.
The Demon Deacons have been led this season by a trio of pitchers in Rhett Lowder, Sean Sullivan, and Josh Hartle. The trio was named to the 2023 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List earlier in April. The Golden Spikes Award is annually given out to the best player in the country. Not only has Wake Forest posted a team ERA of 2.41 this season, but their offense also hasn’t been too shabby either with a team batting line of .297/.424/.528. There’s no sign that the Demon Deacons are going to slow down either and will be among the favorites to make a deep run at a national championship this season.
To wrap up its season, Boston College will play its last six games against Villanova, Maine, and Notre Dame. Villanova this season is just 9-25 including 6-14 on the road while Maine and Notre Dame have been a bit more respectable at 17-12 and 18-15 respectively.
Following the conclusion of its regular season, Boston College should find itself in the ACC Tournament where the Eagles will have an opportunity to lock themselves into a spot in the College Baseball World Series. If they hope to get there, they’ll likely need to pick it up a bit offensively. They’ve been solid, hitting .275/.387/.424 this season but they’ll likely need to see their offense uptick if they hope to beat the tougher teams on their schedule including Wake Forest. They’ll also need their pitching staff to carry it’s own heavy load. The Eagles have posted a team ERA of 5.45 this season and against the ACC’s best, that will simply just not cut it.
Overall, Boston College has put together a great season already but there is still more work to do for them to lock in an ACC Tournament spot and potentially a College Baseball World Series berth.
