More On The Texas-BC 25-Inning Game

September 29, 2009
By

(Courtesy Boston College & Texas Sports Information Depts.)

(Austin, TX) In a game that lasted an NCAA all-division-record 25 innings and went 7 hours and 3 minutes, the No. 5 Texas Longhorns toppled the Boston College Eagles 3-2 at the NCAA Austin Regional at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Saturday evening.

The evening was highlighted by the relief performance of each teams’ closers.

Longhorns left-hander Austin Woods entered the game with one out and a runner on second base in the seventh inning and proceeded to pitch 12.1 innings before yielding a hit. For the game, Wood pitched 13.0 scoreless innings, scattering two hits and four walks while striking out a career-high 14. He logged 169 pitches on the evening.
BC closer Mike Belfiore entered the game in the ninth inning and worked 9.2 scoreless innings and allowed just three hits. He struck out 11 in his outing, throwing 86 strikes and 129 total pitches.
Both pitchers had pitched the previous day as well. Belfiore threw an inning against Texas State on Friday while Wood worked 2.0 innings versus Army.

The 25.0-inning game topped the previous longest game of 23.0 innings played between Louisiana-Lafayette and McNeese State on March 27, 1971. ULL won the game, 6-5.

The prior record for an NCAA Division I Championship game was 1988 when Clemson bested Fordham, 3-2, inning 19 innings at a Northeast Regional game in New Britain, Connecticut.

BC has to turn around and face Army, which beat Texas State in the elimination game earlier in the day, at noon CT on Sunday. Should they win, the Eagles would then have to take on Texas again in the first championship game at 6 p.m.

FACTS AND FIGURES
• Both teams received a standing ovation at the conclusion of the game
• Texas had to reset the scoreboard twice to post the score by inning
• It was 96 degrees at first pitch at 6:02 p.m. – The game finished at 78 degrees at 1:05 a.m.
• Texas introduced the 21st inning stretch
• Both teams used all of their position players
• There were 683 pitches thrown in the game
• Texas stranded 24 men on base
• Belfiore, Hamlet and Lawrence each played three positions
• Texas had three runs on 20 hits
• Junior Chris Kowalski recorded his first-career at-bat
• There were 11 walks in the game compared to 42 strikeouts
• The 10 p.m. ET game at UC Irvine game started and finished
• The 25-inning game was the longest game in NCAA baseball history. The previous longest game was a 23-inning game played between Louisiana-Lafayette and McNeese State on March 27, 1971. ULL won the game 6-5.
• The game also marked the longest NCAA postseason game in history. The previous longest game was a 19-inning contest between Clemson and Fordham at the NCAA Northeast Regional in New Britain, Conn. on May 26, 1988.
• Texas and Boston College combined to set NCAA records with 42 strikeouts, 222 total chances, 69 assists, 192 plate appearances and 171 at-bats.
• Texas’ 91 at-bats, 103 plate appearances, 115 total chances and 75 putouts set new NCAA records
• Tucker and Torres set the NCAA single-game record for at-bats with 12 AB’s against BC
• Preston Clark’s 33 putouts against BC set a new NCAA record for most single-game putouts.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *