Boston College at Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (Interstat) — Kyle Wolff’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning lifted Boston College to a 7-6 victory over Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon at Frank Eck Stadium, giving the Eagles a series win in the Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.

Both teams finished with 12 hits. The Eagles (33-14) took two of three from the Fightin’ Irish (19-20) after splitting a doubleheader Friday and Saturday. Boston College had lost the series opener 12-2 in seven innings before routing Notre Dame 16-1 in eight innings the following day.

Wolff, the designated hitter, went 3 for 5 and drove in two runs. His decisive blast came after Patrick Mainolfi drew a leadoff walk in the ninth against Notre Dame reliever William Jaisle. Wolff crushed a 2-0 pitch over the left-field fence, putting the Eagles ahead for good. He had also doubled twice earlier in the game.

Notre Dame center fielder Drew Berkland provided the home team’s biggest offensive punch. Berkland homered twice, a solo shot in the first inning and a two-run blast in the sixth that gave the Irish a 6-5 lead. He finished 2 for 5 with three RBIs.

Boston College reliever Gavin Soares emerged as the game’s top performer. The right-hander entered in the sixth inning after Berkland’s second homer and retired all 10 batters he faced, striking out six over 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Soares lowered his ERA with his third consecutive scoreless relief outing, following appearances against Maine and Duke.

The game featured an early burst from the Eagles. Boston College scored twice in the first inning when Nick Wang homered to left field, driving in Carter Hendrickson, who had been hit by a pitch. The Eagles added a run in the second on Hendrickson’s RBI double and another in the third on a run-scoring single by Sam Surowiec.

Notre Dame answered in the bottom of the first when Berkland led off with a homer. The Irish tied the game in the fourth with two runs, highlighted by an RBI single from Casey Brzustewicz and a run-scoring hit by Quinn Graham. Notre Dame took its first lead in the fifth on a single up the middle by Jack Quatrani that scored Watters.

Boston College reclaimed a 5-4 edge in the sixth on Mainolfi’s bases-loaded walk, but Berkland’s second homer in the bottom half put Notre Dame ahead 6-5. Soares then took over and struck out the side in the seventh, worked around a one-out single in the eighth and closed the ninth with two more strikeouts.

For Notre Dame, starting pitcher Noah Rooney allowed two earned runs over four innings with six strikeouts. Jaisle took the loss, giving up two runs in 2 2/3 innings. Eli Thurmond recorded the final out for the Irish.

Boston College’s Nick Wang, who played first base and left field, hit a two-run homer and finished 1 for 3 with two RBIs. Hendrickson, starting in right field before being replaced defensively, went 1 for 1 with an RBI double.

The game began under partly cloudy skies and ended in early evening. Boston College travels to Massachusetts-Lowell on Tuesday before a weekend series at Clemson. Notre Dame hosts Central Michigan on Tuesday and Milwaukee on Wednesday before a three-game set against Stanford.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Boston College 7, Notre Dame 4. The Interstat ELO system gave Notre Dame a 56.70 percent probability to win.