The Eagles took the lead in the bottom of the eighth on Jack Toomey’s solo home run. The Wellesley native’s drive to right just cleared the fence at 314 feet and had BC just three outs away from a win.
After Liberty was able to regain the lead in the top of the ninth, Solier came to the plate with two outs and a runner on second, but he lined out to center field to end the game.
BC (36-22) will play in Saturday’s elimination game at noon against the loser of the contest between Georgia and Long Island University, which was suspended Friday night due to weather. That game will resume play Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
Northeastern falls to No. 15 Kansas
Northeastern pushed for a comeback at host No. 15 Kansas, but ultimately fell short in a 6-3 loss in the Huskies’ first game in the Lawrence Regional of the NCAA Tournament at Hoglund Ballpark on Friday.
Kansas jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to a two-run homer from Augusto Mungarrieta and a solo shot from Dariel Osoria in the second inning. And after Natick native Will Forsberg hit a solo homer in the third inning to get a run back for the Huskies, Tyson LeBlanc responded with a solo home run of his own in the third inning to make it 4-1.
But Northeastern kept fighting. Franklin native Henry DiGiorgio drove in Uxbridge’s Charlie Criscola on a fielder’s choice to second base in the fifth inning, and Criscola drove in Franklin native Ryan Gerety on a ground out to third base in the sixth inning to bring the Huskies within one.
Kansas (43-16) broke the game open in the eighth though, with LeBlanc and Cade Baldridge driving in runs on singles to give the Jayhawks a three-run lead heading into the ninth. After Dominic Voegele allowed three runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts as Kansas’ starter, Boede Rahe came in to pitch two shutout innings and collect a save.
Gerety went 3 for 4 with a triple, and accounted for nearly half of Northeastern’s seven hits on the day. Luc Rising took the loss for the Huskies, surrendering four runs on four hits in 3⅔ innings.
Northeastern (38-21) will face Missouri State in an elimination game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Holy Cross crushed by Texas
Holy Cross surrendered six home runs in a 19-1 blowout loss to No. 6 Texas in the Crusaders’ first NCAA tournament game in the Austin Regional.
The Longhorns (41-13) scored at least one run in all eight innings that they took at-bats, and hit their most home runs as a team in a postseason game in school history. The Longhorns also matched their largest-ever margin of victory in a postseason win.
Freshman star Anthony Pack Jr. went 3 for 3 with 3 homers, 5 RBIs, 4 runs, and a walk. Jayden Duplantier, who replaced Pack Jr. in left field in the sixth inning after the Longhorns took an 11-0 lead, hit a grand slam in his first at-bat. Leadoff hitter Aiden Robbins homered twice in a 2-for-5 day as well.
John Lafleur, who went 2 for 4, drove in the Crusaders’ only run of the day on a single with the bases loaded in the ninth inning.
The Crusaders (25-29) will face UC Santa Barbara in an elimination game Saturday at 2 p.m.
Yale surrendered 18 hits and fell 14-2 to host No. 11 Oregon in its first game of the Eugene Regional.
Angel Laya and Drew Smith, the Ducks’ No. 2 and 3 hitters, respectively, each went 4 for 5 with two runs in the win. Naulivou Lauaki Jr. hit Oregon’s only home run of the game, a 458-foot bomb as a part of an eight-run eighth inning for the Ducks that blew the game open.
Brady Ruiz-Weiss drove in Yale’s only two runs of the game on a two-run homer in the sixth inning that brought the score to 6-2.
The Bulldogs will face Oregon State in an elimination game on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Endicott takes down Salisbury
Sixth-seeded Endicott beat No. 3 Salisbury 5-1 in the opening round of the Division 3 NCAA Championship.
The Gulls jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings and never looked back. John Fusco scored twice for the Gulls, while Shrewsbury native AJ Hamm had a key RBI triple in the third inning.
Hudson native Brady Stuart pitched well for the Gulls, allowing one run with 11 strikeouts in six innings in the win.
Endicott will face No. 7 Adrian, which beat second-seeded Rowan 10-1 earlier Friday, on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
