With one swing of the bat, left fielder Andrew Lawrence put an exclamation point on a stunning comeback and kept the Boston College baseball team's hopes for an ACC championship alive.
Tied at 10 in the bottom of the 12th, Lawrence socked a home run over the right-field fence to weather the No. 14 Miami Hurricanes, 12-10, Thursday afternoon, in the second game of the three-game opening set of the ACC tournament.
"I've never done that before," Lawrence said. "In Little League, high school, I've never had a walk-off hit like that. It was indescribable — the ball leaving the bat and knowing it was out."
The left fielder also saved a run in the top of the 12th, gunning down Miami's Stephen Perez, who was trying to score from second on a single that got past third baseman Anthony Melchionda. His two-run shot pushed across the sixth and seventh unanswered runs for the Eagles, who erased a five-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth to catch the Hurricanes.
After Miami jumped to a 10-5 lead thanks in large part to a Zeke DeVoss grand slam in the top of the ninth, Boston College had every reason to feel deflated. The Eagles squandered a 4-0 lead after five innings, and also allowed the high-powered Hurricanes to tie it once more in the top of the eighth.
But this resilient BC squad didn't quit. After plating two runs to cut the lead to 10-7, senior captain John Spatola stepped to the plate with two outs and an 0-for-4 day looming in his mind. With two men on base, the cleanup hitter blasted a three-run homer off Miami reliever Daniel Miranda to tie the game for a third time and send the Eagles' dugout into a frenzy.
Kevin Moran earned the victory, tossing 3 1/3 sterling innings in relief, allowing no hits and one walk.
The Eagles get less than 24 hours to enjoy their walk-off win, as they prepare for the No. 13 Florida State Seminoles at noon Friday, airing on NESN. The Noles took two of three from Boston College in Chestnut Hill three weeks ago, including a ninth-inning, two-run burst that downed the Eagles late.
John Leonard, the likely starting pitcher for Boston College on Friday, was roughed up in the final game of the series, lasting just 4 1/3 innings and giving up eight earned runs. He responded with a better outing on May 21 against Georgia Tech, allowing four runs over four innings.
Florida State enters the game riding momentum of its own after trouncing top-seeded Virginia, 11-4, on Thursday.
Although its potential berth to the ACC championship game hinges upon Miami taking down Virginia on Saturday, Boston College first needs to find another way to win.
