The fate of the Boston College baseball season rests in Thursday's match-up against Miami.
Entering as the eighth and final seed in the ACC tournament, the Eagles will need to take care of No. 4 seed Miami and No. 5 seed Florida State (Saturday, 12 p.m., NESN), plus get a little help in the form of at least one loss from Virginia, if they hope to advance to the championship game — and likely the NCAA tournament.
Boston College opened its conference schedule in Coral Gables, Fla., dropping two out of three to the Hurricanes (39-16) in mid-March. Hurt by the lack of a true third starting pitcher, the Eagles allowed 18 runs in their two losses, including an 11-4 romp in the series finale. Since then, No. 2 starter John Leonard has returned to the rotation, adding a reliable arm and compiling a 2-2 record in seven starts. He will likely take the mound against Miami.
The Eagles (29-27) nearly stunned the top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (46-10) in the opening game of the ACC tournament on Wednesday behind seven strong innings from junior Pat Dean, but an eighth-inning collapse handed Virginia a 6-4 win. After Boston College jumped out to a 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth, the Cavaliers responded with timely hitting to score three runs off Eagles relievers Taylor Lasko and Matt Brazis.
A single from Virginia's Tyler Cannon with runners on the corners evened the game at four, and another single with the bases loaded from Jarrett Parker plated two more before Brazis was able to shut down the rally. Three strikeouts in the top of the ninth ended Boston College's chance at another comeback.
The ACC tournament is formatted into two groups of four teams. The four teams play each other, and the squad with the best record at the end of three games moves on to the ACC championship game. The ACC champion receives an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament, which begins June 19.
Without a stellar record or many marquee wins, Boston College could watch its national tournament hopes disappear with a loss to Miami.
