CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Boston College baseball team released the 2016 schedule on Thursday. The 55-game slate features 22 home games, highlighted by three matchups with 2015 Super Regional participants, including the National Champion Virginia Cavaliers.
The Eagles open the season in Glendale, Ariz., with a four-game set against Northern Illinois at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 19. BC then returns to the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla., for eight total games, with matchups against Villanova, Northwestern and Ohio State.
BC will play the Red Sox for the 26th time in Fort Myers, Fla., on Monday, Feb. 29 at JetBlue Park at 1:05 p.m. Last year, the Eagles fell to the local pro team, 1-0, in the annual seven-inning contest. It was the fourth one-run loss in the series history.
Boston College opens the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule at NC State on March 11. The Wolfpack lost to TCU, a team that made it to Omaha, in the NCAA Regional and dropped the ACC Championship game to Florida State.
The Eagles open the home slate on Tuesday, March 15 by welcoming instate rivals Holy Cross to Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field. They then return to the road on March 18 for a three-game set against Clemson with the Tigers under new head coach Monte Lee.
After playing just a few miles down the road at Northeastern, BC will travel to its third conference destination – Pittsburgh – after missing the Panthers last year. The two teams will play Thursday, Friday and Saturday beginning on March 24 due to the Easter holiday.
The Eagles host 2015 ACC Champion and Super Regional participant Florida State and 2015 National Champion Virginia in back-to-back weekends, starting on April 1. The Cavs were the first ACC team to bring home the trophy since 1955.
The annual Beanpot Tournament will begin on April 6 as the Eagles take on Massachusetts in Amherst. BC recaptured the trophy last season with wins over Northeastern and the Minutemen. The championship game will be played at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Mass., on April 20. The Eagles are 33-16-1 in the local tournament and have won 11 titles.
Other regional contests include Connecticut (home, March 29), Harvard (away, April 12), Dartmouth (home, April 19), UMass Lowell (home, April 26), Bryant (home, April 27), Rhode Island (away, May 3) and Maine (home, May 17).
BC travels to Notre Dame to take on the Irish beginning on Friday, April 15. It will be the first time the Eagles play in South Bend since 2010 as the two teams played in Chicago in 2014, ND’s first year in the ACC. Former BC head coach Mik Aioki took the Irish to a Regional appearance last season.
The Eagles return to The Heights to play 15 of the final 20 games in the friendly confides on Shea Field, including against Super Regional participant Louisville (April 22-24), Virginia Tech (April 29-May 1) and Wake Forest (May 6-8).
The Eagles will host the Fourth Annual Wounded Warrior Project Game against the Hokies on Saturday, April 30 at 1:30 p.m. and will host the Fifth Annual ALS Awareness Game against the Demon Deacons on Saturday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m.
Before hitting the road one more time, BC will take on Niagara University in a two-game set on May 14-15 and play host to Maine. The Eagles then finish off the regular season at Georgia Tech beginning on Thursday, May 19.
The 2016 ACC Baseball Tournament will begin on Tuesday, May 24 in Durham, N.C., at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The tournament will showcase the top 10 ACC teams and will feature two elimination games the first day, followed by three games per day in a round-robin format from Wednesday through Saturday. The championship game between the two pool winners will be played on Sunday afternoon.
The Eagles look to improve the 27-27 record set last season, going 10-19 in the ACC. It was the best finish under sixth-year head coach Mike Gambino. They return seven starters, including five who played in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League: pitchers senior Jesse Adams, juniors Justin Dunn and Mike King, along with juniors shortstop Johnny Adams, who earned the Manny Robello 10th Player Award catcher Nick Sciortino, who picked up the Ed Lyons Coaches Award from the Chatham Anglers.
