Birdball Aces: How the Weekend Rotation Has Fueled Boston College’s Success

BC Birdball, it’s a thing of beauty. Everyone is aware of the unique offensive system that head coach Todd Interdonato employs at Boston College. Whether it’s referred to as “Todd Ball” or “Birdball”, it’s a style that often steals the headlines when it comes to Boston College’s success.

While the nuanced version of small ball and controlled aggression on the basepaths is exciting and fun to watch, the strength of this year’s squad lies with the pitching staff. Boston College boasts the ACC’s second-best ERA as a staff and is led by a gritty and experienced weekend rotation.

The trio of AJ Colarusso, Tyler Mudd, and Brady Miller sets the tone for the pitching staff, and each brings their own unique flair to the mound. The three left-handers have settled into their roles, allowing for the uber-talented likes of Cesar Gonzalez, Kyle Kipp, John Kwiatkowski, Sean Hard, and Gavin Soares to flourish as shutdown relievers.

Colarusso is the staff ace, a team leader whose pitching performances are fueled by passion and conviction. Mudd is the crafty, under-sized veteran with a chip on his shoulder and an ever-present grin. And Brady Miller, the youngster of the group as a sophomore, is the quieter one with the most overall arm talent and projectable stuff.   

Boston College’s success this season can be traced back to the Eagles’ run in the 2025 ACC Tournament. Entering the event as the 14th seed, BC had to win back-to-back late-night games over Notre Dame and Virginia to reach the quarterfinals. Both games ended in the wee hours of the morning.

After upsetting the pair of NCAA Tournament hopefuls and ending their seasons, Colarusso toed the rubber on two days’ rest and pitched into the 7th inning before making way for the bullpen. The Herculean performance by Colarusso will be forever etched in BC lore. 

While UNC would come back to win that game and thus end the Eagles’ 2025 season, both Colarusso and Mudd stressed the importance of that tournament run as a turning point in the program.

“I vividly remember the second we got back after our season ended,” Mudd explained. “[Interdonato] said, ‘It sucks right now, and it stings, but I’ll tell you right now, this is a turning point in this program.’ Going into this year, I knew we were going to be good. We’ve just carried on the momentum from last year’s ACC Tournament.” 

“It showed us what we can do when we fire on all cylinders,” Colarusso added. “It showed that we could hang with and beat anyone in the country, so that just gave us a lot of momentum heading into this year.”

Miller and Colarusso combined to start all three games of that ACC Tournament run, while Tyler Mudd did not make an appearance. Gavin Soares, Cesar Gonzalez, and Kyle Kipp enjoyed heroic relief appearances that week, perhaps spurring them to high levels of success this season. 

Each of the three starting arms has had to overcome various setbacks in their careers, and each has used that adversity to become better players.

Nobody has started more games on the mound for Boston College than Colarusso, whose most recent appearance against Virginia Tech tied him for the most starts in program history. He’s started 43 games over four seasons and is currently tied with Jacob Stevens for the most all-time.

It’s quite a feat for the senior, who entered last season as the Friday night arm before major struggles over his first few outings demoted him to the bullpen heading into conference play. Instead of spiraling or feeling sorry for himself, Colarusso focused on improving.

His next two appearances came out of the bullpen on the road against Virginia. In a match-up that didn’t see many zeroes on the scoreboard, Colarusso made an impact, combining to toss 4.1 scoreless innings with a win and a save in Boston College’s series victory. 

Shortly after, Colarusso returned to the weekend rotation, and the rest is history. He ended the season tossing 73.2 innings and carrying a 4.89 ERA. The veteran credited a mindset change and throwing with conviction as the key contributors to his resurgence.

“Pitching with conviction is what proves to me that I’ve prepared hard enough. I have a phenomenal team to lean on, so just going out there and letting it rip without any reservations is what has really helped me the most in my career here. It’s a reflection of how well I prepared, and how well the team was prepared.”

Tyler Mudd transferred to Boston College in 2024 after two seasons at Holy Cross. In Interdonato’s first season as head coach, Mudd was immediately a game-changer out of the bullpen, giving up just two earned runs and striking out 23 batters over his first 17 innings as an Eagle.

In his third appearance of the season, against William & Mary, he suffered a slight tear of the left lateral meniscus. He made two more appearances after that, but the injury worsened to the point where he needed surgery. 

It could have been a season-ender after a promising start to his BC career. Instead, Mudd had the surgery, rehabbed, and was back on the mound just over a month later. This setback would only be the first example of Mudd’s toughness and grit. 

As a senior, Mudd started 2025 as the relief ace before being moved into the weekend rotation. He bounced around in several roles, and the results were a bit of a mixed bag as he worked to move past the injury.       

“Last season, I was still dealing with it,” Mudd said of his injury. “There were times when I couldn’t even crouch for most of the year. Todd made it a point to get back to school and rehab really well this summer, and that’s been huge.”

“It’s still not 100 percent, and it’s never going to be 100 percent, but it’s night-and-day better than it was last year. That has had a lot to do with being able to extend my outings and have more success.”

Brady Miller was an impact freshman for Boston College in 2025, appearing in 16 games and starting 12. He went 4-1 with a 4.27 ERA over 59 innings, finding success despite an average fastball velocity of 87 MPH.

The 6’5” sophomore took major strides in his development during the summer and fall, where everything in his arsenal has seen an uptick in velocity and stuff. But that development came at a price, as Miller needed to rest for a few weeks during the preseason.

This meant that he wouldn’t be ready to start the season in the weekend rotation and would need to be stretched out slowly over a handful of starts. Miller made his debut on the third weekend of the season, pitching two hitless innings at FGCU.

After throwing 50+ pitches in his second and third starts against Miami and NC State, Miller was unleashed against Cal. He impressed over six innings, holding the Bears to three hits and two unearned runs while striking out seven. His average fastball now sits between 91 and 92 MPH.

“Everything is up a little bit with him, which is good,” Coach Interdonato said after Miller’s start against NC State on March 15th. “When he came out of the winter, we felt like that was going to be the case. But then, we just needed to slow him down a bit. Since he’s been back up, his velocity is definitely up.”

Despite their unique differences, the three weekend arms have plenty in common as well. All are left-handers and Massachusetts natives, and each of the three are grinders on the mound. They embrace toughness and take pride in being New England baseball players.

Northern teams, including Boston College, have to endure frosty autumn practices and frigid winter preseasons. While most of the conference is practicing on their home fields in preparation for opening weekend in mid-February, BC often practices indoors because the field is unavailable due to weather.

Both Colarusso and Mudd pointed to the difficult falls and indoor winters as factors in developing the team’s toughness and culture.

“We go through a really hard fall and winter,” Colarusso explained. “It really instills a mindset of caring for each other, and that’s really where it stems from.”

“In the dog days of the fall and winter, we’re in the bubble the whole entire pre-spring,” Mudd added. “It’s just about embracing the suck together, and our gritty mentality from that shows up on the field night in and night out.”

Growing up in Massachusetts, each of the three starting pitchers dreamed of playing for Boston College. Despite a head coaching change following the 2023 season, Colarusso stayed at BC, and Mudd’s arrival from Holy Cross was undeterred.

Their love for the program and the school is evident in how they pursue their success. For Colarusso, it’s a family affair. His sister, Giulia, is a sophomore on the lacrosse team and was recently named ACC Offensive Player of the Week after an impressive display against Stanford.

Both Mudd and Colarusso were members of the 2025 All-ACC Academic team, and each spoke with pride about their school’s academic prowess. But it kept coming back to grittiness.

For Colarusso, his passion and toughness are displayed on his sleeve. He often shows a fiery disposition after a big out, firing up himself and his team.

“It shows that I love to compete,” Colarusso said of his emotional output. “It comes from being really proud to be on this team, representing the jersey, and contributing to the success we’re having. That’s really where it comes from– it’s just being proud to be pitching for BC, and helping us win games.”

While the passion fuels the Eagles’ ace, coaches praise his work ethic, recovery, and preparation as keys to success. Colarusso’s commitment to taking care of his body in both the preseason and between outings is unrivaled. 

On top of that, the senior is a four-year starter and a natural leader. Colarusso’s leadership as the staff ace cannot be overstated. He’s always open to offering advice to his teammates about the ACC, Boston College, and even schoolwork. 

Additionally, he’s not afraid to hold his fellow pitchers accountable or take youngsters under his wing. While Colarusso is having a career year on the mound, his value to the team and his school go way beyond the box score.

At 5’9”, Tyler Mudd is smaller than most college pitchers. His father, Michael, played hockey in the St. Louis Blues organization. Growing up, Mudd was always more of a hockey kid and spent much of his childhood around various ice rinks. He played hockey until he was a sophomore in high school before fully committing to baseball.

The combination of his size and a hockey mentality has forced the grad student to pitch with a chip on his shoulder. 

“It is such a team game and I learned a lot about being a good teammate from hockey,” Mudd said. “And pitcher as an undersized guy with grittiness and a chip on my shoulder was really developed over my hockey days. I try to play with that toughness.”

Mudd would be the first to admit that he has the least arm talent of the trio. What separates him on the mound is his toughness and the ability to grind through an outing. The competitive fire and his grit make him the perfect complement to Colarusso and Miller.

Last weekend, in a rubber match against Virginia Tech, the crafty veteran delivered the best start of his career. He churned out a career high seven innings and gave up just two runs as the Eagles clinched the game and the series with a 6-2 win.

Similar to Mudd, Colarusso inherited his competitive mentality from his father, who played college football. The aforementioned work ethic and conviction could be directly attributed to the elder Colarusso.

“He instilled in me the mindset that hard work is what’s going to get you there; not making excuses, not caring what everyone else thinks, and just giving it your all without any reservations,” AJ said. “My father definitely got that from football. And it’s been passed down pretty well.”  

Brady Miller has the tools to be a future ACC Pitcher of the Year contender. His development from freshman to sophomore year has provided Interdonato with a second ace. All five of his pitches have seen a significant uptick in velocity and command.

Miller’s impressive progress was on full display in his dominant display against Virginia a few weeks ago. The sophomore standout went seven shutout innings and struck out a career nine batters while allowing just two hits and one walk.

“He really understands what he’s doing on a daily basis,” Forrest said of Miller in early January. “He understands his delivery and his arsenal better than anybody else. The prep that he puts in

on game day is something I’ve never seen from a freshman.”

Boston College’s performance on the mound has only pushed each arm to new heights. Instead of competing with each other, the Eagles’ pitchers celebrate each other and try to build off one another’s success.

Instead of trying to one-up each other on the mound or match performances, the close-knit group is fueled by each other’s great moments, something that’s been a cornerstone of the program since Interdonato arrived ahead of the 2024 season.

“A big thing that we talk about in our program is celebrating each other’s success,” Mudd said. “What’s been really special about this year so far is that each guy has stepped up in one way or another. It’s obviously nice doing things yourself, but getting to celebrate each other’s successes is even better.”

“It’s a little cliché, but the rising tide raises all ships,” added Colarusso. “The success is definitely feeding off of everyone on the staff.” 

In the end, the success of BC’s pitching staff comes back to three things: toughness, team culture, and conviction. Every pitcher knows who they are on the mound and what they need to do for the team to win ballgames.

Whether it’s one of the weekend starters, a talented freshman arm, or a key bullpen piece, every player has embraced their role and fully bought into their pitching identities. And while the small ball might steal the headlines, it’s why Birdball is really about the elite pitching staff. 

“Each guy really knows who he is on the mound,” said Colarusso of the pitching staff. “He knows exactly what he needs to do, whether he’s going to execute a slider at a certain spot, or whether he has to do that first pitch out of the pen. Every guy knows how to get outs.”

During a series against Top-10 Virginia, the trio of starters pitched 18 innings without giving up an earned run. That streak was extended to 24 innings when Colarusso added six innings without an earned run against North Carolina the following weekend.

Boston College has not been back to the NCAA Tournament since 2023. On Tuesday, they beat Northeastern, 3-1, to capture the Beanpot title, their first since 2023.

Last year, the Eagles won just 11 ACC games. On April 15th, they’ve already matched that total and look poised to enter the Regional hosting conversation with a few more winning conference weekends.

With AJ Colarusso, Brady Miller, and Tyler Mudd leading a tough and determined pitching staff, the sky is the limit for this Boston College squad. In fact, this stable of arms has the experience and talent to inspire dreams of Omaha in June. Now, wouldn’t that be a thing of beauty?