No. 14 Seed Boston College Baseball Upsets No. 6 Virginia to Advance to ACC Tournament Quarterfinals

Thanks to Ragsdale’s heroics, along with Cesar Gonzalez’s three no-run innings of work on the mound, Boston College (28-28, 12-19 ACC) advanced to the 2025 ACC Baseball Tournament quarterfinals over the Cavaliers (32-18, 16-12 ACC) by a final score of 12-8.

Heading into the tournament, UVA’s RPI ranking of 56 left the Cavaliers on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament, and the victory for BC only made the Cavaliers’ case worse to march further into the postseason. On the flip side, the only chances for BC to make the NCAA Tournament is to win out, and the Eagles stepped one foot closer with the second-round upset after defeating Notre Dame on Tuesday.

Hopes for BC of continuing its playoff run were alive and well going into the bottom of the sixth with a 9-4 lead. But those aspirations were nearly extinguished once Virginia’s Henry Ford blasted a three-run homer to bring the Cavaliers within a run.

Ford drilled the ball over the left-field wall at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C., leaving no doubt about his moonshot which inched UVA closer to an even ballgame.

Despite Ford’s home run and overall night at the plate, in which the right fielder registered three hits in five at-bats with four RBIs, BC plated five runs in the first inning alone, stealing four bases in the process, and managed to keep a five-run lead going into the sixth frame. 

The Eagles reached base 10 times on non-hit plays with seven steals and three hit by pitches, and Virginia’s five errors in the contest proved costly.

While BC scored 12 runs, Gunnar Johnson and Adam Magpoc were the only Eagles who recorded multiple hits in the game, speaking to the unique nature of head coach Todd Inderdonato’s system. From constant battling as baserunners to frequently laying bunts, BC showcased the effectiveness of Interdonato’s small ball strategy.

The Eagles started with freshman Brady Miller on the mound, who went 2 ⅓ innings but needed to exit the game due to an injury supposedly stemming from eye irritation. Virginia bounced back in the bottom of the first with two runs and did so again in the second on hits by Eric Becker and Henry Ford, but BC kept clawing back.

A throwing error allowed Jack Toomey to reach first and score Patrick Roche in the top of the fourth inning, and the frame ensued with Esteban Garcia singling to score Johnson, handing the Eagles their five-run cushion. 

In the final three innings, Gonzalez fanned six batters to keep BC out in front, and the Eagles prevailed 12-8.

Next up, Boston College will face No. 3-seeded North Carolina in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. The game is set to air on ACC Network.