Boston College baseball enters ACC Tournament with big hopes

Boston Faculty baseball was picked to complete final within the Atlantic Coast Convention preseason coaches ballot. With a chip on their shoulder, the Eagles have proved to be the darling of the league.

After ending fourth within the ACC, Boston College (36-20, 17-13) opens event play at Truist Subject in Charlotte on Thursday at 7 p.m. towards the winner of Stanford and Miami.

“These guys — the coaches ballot — picked us final, useless final, within the ACC, so I feel that type of began a bit hearth in everybody, at the least in me,” stated freshman third baseman Luke Gallo, who’s slashing .336/.441/.443.

“They clearly don’t know what we’re about. They clearly don’t know what we’re able to, however we understood what we have been able to from the beginning.”

BC spent seven consecutive weeks within the USA In the present day coaches ballot, peaking at No. 19, however have been bounced out after being swept by No. 3 Georgia Tech final weekend in Chestnut Hill.

Todd Interdonato’s third 12 months on the helm has yielded a program rebirth.

The Eagles are primarily a lock to play within the NCAA Regionals for the primary time since 2023.

This 12 months’s seniors had a style of success again as freshmen, however completed with a 22-31 mark in 2023 and underneath .500 in 2025 at 28-29, bowing out within the ACC quarterfinals.

The Eagles have proved they will dangle with the convention’s higher echelon. BC took a collection win at then-No. 24 Miami and one other at No. 9 Virginia — which included a 17-0 drubbing. Additionally they performed a decent collection towards No. 6 North Carolina.

“We actually imagine we’re probably the greatest groups within the nation,” stated senior pitcher A.J. Colarusso. “We’ve believed that from the start once we first had our early season success, and we simply saved that mentality of confidence.”

Colarusso, the group’s ace, has a 5-3 file with 4.18 ERA and fanned 66 in 71 innings. The 6-foot, 205-pound lefthander grew up in Leominster and performed on the Groton Faculty. He tops out at 90 m.p.h. along with his four-seam fastball, mixing in a changeup, cutter, and curveball, staying in and across the zone to get outs.

“He’s probably the most prototypical, excellent [BC] scholar athlete that you could create,” stated Interdonato. “He’s from [Massachusetts]. He loves this place. He’s been right here for all 4 years. He now has the profession file for begins in this system, which is only a mind-boggling stat.

“He’s probably the most ready, probably the most dedicated, probably the most constant, and probably the most aggressive participant you’ll be able to come throughout. When you might have a man that has all of these qualities and that type of love and appreciation for the establishment, it simply bleeds into every little thing else.”

First baseman Nick Wang, a graduate scholar from Newton, is hitting .306 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs in 56 video games. The facility bat within the coronary heart of the lineup, he serves as a juxtaposition to a group keen to put down bunts and steal luggage.

“It’s been actually cool to embrace the [BC] neighborhood, within the place the place I grew up, in the identical city,” Wang stated. “There’s nothing higher than that.”

Twelve Massachusetts residents are on the roster, embodying Interdonato’s recruiting technique that begins in within the dwelling state and branches out to the Northeast.

Many are accustomed to being restricted to indoor services within the winter, a stark distinction to their counterparts from hotter climates. Throughout the winter, the Eagles follow in “The Bubble,” a short lived dome that covers the taking part in floor at Alumni Subject.

Moveable mounds are moved out and in day by day. Hitters prepare in makeshift cages. Fielding fly balls presents a problem.

“We’ve bought to deliver that type of grit and that chip on our shoulder as a result of persons are going to miss us,” stated Gallo, a Shrewsbury resident who performed at Phillips Andover. “They’re going to assume down upon us as a result of we’re from the Northeast, chilly climate, don’t actually play baseball that a lot 12 months round.”

If the Eagles can get previous their quarterfinal opponent Thursday, the semifinals might be performed Saturday and a champion might be topped Sunday. The NCAA bracket might be revealed Monday at midday (ESPN2).