DURHAM, N.C. – With 7,027 fans on their feet, most of them wearing Carolina blue, Boston College pitcher A.J. Colarusso could doubtlessly feel the pressure.
His Eagles had taken a 2-0 lead into the bottom of of the fifth, and after striking out the first two batters of the inning, singles by Carter French and Kane Kepley and a walk to Jackson Van de Brake had loaded the bases. Sixty and a half feet away was Tar Heels catcher Luke Stevenson, with 16 homers to his name with a full count. Colarusso fired a fastball that caught the upper corner of the zone.
There was a second of delayed gratification. Finally, home plate umpire Brian Miller called strike three, and Colarusso punched the air and screamed into the North Carolina night, erupting in a celebration that even John Rocker might find a tad excessive.
THAT'S RIGHT @aj_cola14 🔥
WORKHORSE. https://t.co/PbUIp957G3 pic.twitter.com/mF0zqJlNhA
— Boston College Baseball (@BCBirdBall) May 24, 2025
The pressure was released, and Colarusso had tossed his fifth of six shutout innings against North Carolina, a team that averaged 7.6 runs per game coming into Friday night’s contest, working on just two days rest. He’d thrown 72 pitches over four innings of work in B.C.’s 5-4 win over Notre Dame on Tuesday.
“Colarusso? That was impressive. That’s an old-school pitching mentality that a lot of people don’t have anymore. So I thought that was extremely impressive,” said UNC head coach Scott Forbes. “I mean, I think it was 72 pitches two days ago, tonight, 109. He was tough on us in Boston, tough on us again.”
But Colarusso’s stellar start was spoiled an inning later, when the B.C. bullpen gave up five runs, the lead, and ultimately the game, as the Tar Heels topped the Eagles 7-2 to advance to the ACC tournament semifinal, where they will play Florida State at 5 p.m. Saturday.
“Playing a top eight national seed in their home state against their crowd. [They’ve got the] ACC Pitcher of the Year on the mound, we knew it was gonna take a monumental effort. And I thought A.J. gave us that, right? I thought A.J. gave us that monumental effort we were gonna need,” Boston College head coach Todd Interdonato said following the game.
The Eagles grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the third, first getting on the board when Patrick Roche looped a double into left that scored Josiah Ragsdale, and then Jack Toomey followed with a single to score Roche.
The lead held through the fifth, when Colarusso struck out Stevenson to get out of the bases-loaded jam, and the sixth, where the Tar Heels had a runner in scoring position with one out.
But then came the seventh. After issuing a walk to Perry Hargett, Colarusso left the game, and J.D. Ogden came on and walked French and Kepley loaded the bases with no outs. Out came Ogden for Dylan Howanitz, and then a double by Van de Brake on the fourth and final pitch Howanitz would thrown got Hargett and French home to tie the game at two.
John Kwiatkowski emerged from the Eagles’ bullpen to face Stevenson with runners on second and third, still none out, and threw his first pitch to the backstop, allowing Kepley to score and Van de Brake to advance to third. Two pitches later, Stevenson singled to score Van de Brake and make it 4-2. Stevenson scored on a two-out single by pinch hitter Lee Sowers, and the Tar Heels led 5-2.
They’d go on to win 7-2, ending 14th-seeded B.C.’s Cinderella run in the ACC tournament and making it very likely that the Eagles, who entered the day 64th in the RPI, would miss the NCAA tournament.
“I thought A.J. gave us that monumental effort we were gonna need,” said Boston College head coach Todd Interdonato in a press conference following the game, battling back tears alongside three of his seniors. “We felt like he was beyond what we expected him to do. And then they just had some really good at-bats, and we just didn’t get it done down the stretch.”
A few minutes later, Donato and his players walked out the front gate of Durham Bulls Athletic Park through throngs of happy fans clad in blue, around the corner onto Jackie Robinson Drive, where the bus, fans, parents, and more tears awaited.
2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament Schedule
Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, N.C.
All times Eastern Daylight Time
Tuesday, May 20 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 16 California 12, No. 9 Miami 2
No. 12 Virginia Tech 7, No. 13 Stanford 4
No. 15 Pitt 13, No. 10 Louisville 11
No. 14 Boston College 5, No. 11 Notre Dame 4
Wednesday, May 20 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 16 California 14, No. 8 Wake Forest 12
No. 5 Clemson 6, No. 12 Virginia Tech 1
No. 7 Duke 4, No. 15 Pitt 3
No. 14 Boston College 12, No. 6 Virginia 8
Thursday, May 21 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 1 Georgia Tech 10, No. 16 California 2
No. 5 Clemson 7, No. 4 N.C. State 6
Friday, May 22 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 2 Florida State 14, No. 7 Duke 7
No. 3 North Carolina 7, No. 14 Boston College 2
Saturday, May 23 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
1 p.m. – No. 1 Georgia Tech vs. No. 5 Clemson – Game 13
5 p.m. – No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 3 North Carolina – Game 14
Sunday, May 24 – Game Broadcast on ESPN2
Noon – Championship Game
Photo: Carter French scores for UNC in their 7-2 against Boston College in the ACC quarterfinals. (Photo courtesy of the ACC)
