By Jason Richland

The Northeastern baseball team split the weekend set at Friedman Diamond in Brookline, downing the University of Hartford, 8-1, Friday and falling to the University of Vermont Sunday, 11-1. They then dropped the Tuesday afternoon game against the University of Connecticut, 12-9, at J.O. Christian Field in Storrs, Conn. Saturday’s game against the University of Maine Black Bears rained out.

Northeastern held a 9-5 lead over UConn heading into the sixth inning, but gave up seven unanswered runs to lose the game. Senior Miguel Paquette had three hits, including a home run and freshman Mike Lyon had three hits and three RBI.

The Huskies have been plagued by inconsistency so far this season, compiling a 6-12 overall record. The official America East season opens this weekend with a three-game series against Hartford, beginnig with a double header at Saturday noon at Friedman Diamond.

“When you are losing, it has a negative effect in a mental way,” said head coach Neil McPhee. “If you lose consistently, your confidence level starts to diminish. You get a win on a lucky break, a windblown triple that wins a ballgame changes teams overnight. You have to get lucky sometimes or you might need one or two guys to step it up.”

Despite the rough start, the Huskies are unaffected in the conference standings.

“It is one of the worst starts we have ever had,” McPhee said. “We know we should be much closer to .500. We have to accept where we are and we feel confident that we have the potential to challenge for the conference. All that being said, we are still in first place in the conference.”

Hartford has an 0-7 record heading into conference play. Sophomore right-hander Adam Ottavino will start in the early game on Saturday for Northeastern.