By Jimmy Brooks, News Staff
After dropping a three-game series to Old Dominion University last weekend, the Huskies might have some fans completely convinced that the team is doomed.
A set of back-to-back losses against the Monarchs diminished the team record to 3-14, and 0-6 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play.
Despite the pair of losses, the Huskies did manage to emerge from the series with a win.
“Even though the wins weren’t there, we wanted to take two out of three,”senior pitcher Brandon McNelis said. “We only got one, we’re starting to put it together,”.
With a chance to capture their first series win of the year, the Huskies met face-to-face with Old Dominion, falling 8-4 Sunday.
Despite a relatively strong performance by McNelis, who pitched five innings and struck out nine, the Huskies let a game that was well within reach slip away.
Sophomore catcher Jon Leroux doubled and knocked in a run to tie the game in the fifth inning, giving the Huskies a chance to win their first series of the year.
Leroux’s big day, which included two doubles and two RBI, was not enough. ODU was able to capitalize with timely hits to shatter the tie, finally coming out with a victory.
“They kept the pressure on us, especially with their hitters,” McNelis said. “They were just putting balls in play, it didn’t seem like they changed their approach at all [after the first game].”
The Monarchs, who collected 30 hits over the course of the weekend, were able to capture a win in the previous game as well, defeating the Huskies 10-3 on Saturday. Senior outfielder Jeff Dunlap’s RBI single in the first gave the Huskies their only lead of the day. The Monarchs were able to wipe away another lead when in the third inning they pulled ahead 2-1.
The recurring nightmare of a game proved to be a microcosm of the way the year has gone thus far.
The blown lead marks the ninth time this season the Huskies have had a lead but failed to exit the game with a win. Had the Huskies won just four out of those nine contests, they would be sitting at a much prettier 7-10 record.
The bright spot of the weekend was a 7-4 victory in the opening game of the series, played last Friday. The win, which snapped a four-game losing streak, marks the squad’s third victory of the season.
Yet again, the Huskies pulled out to an early 1-0 lead with a fourth inning solo-shot from sophomore shortstop Pete Castoldi.
After another Northeastern run, the Monarchs rallied to take a 3-2 lead, anchored by a two-run homer by rightfielder Nathan Hartman.
NU tied things up when freshman third baseman Jimmy Filter knocked in a run, then Leroux scored from third on a wild pitch in the sixth to give the Huskies the lead.
“We put everything together, our hitters did real well,” McNelis said. “[Senior pitcher] Les [Williams] did a great job on the mound, he set the tone pumping strikes. We came out with a lot of momentum going into the first couple innings and stuck with it.”
Williams, a co-captain, did in fact play a vital part in the victory. Williams pitched six innings, allowing just one earned run while fanning five batters. The senior’s performance kept the game within reach, even after Old Dominion briefly re-seized the lead.
“I was just trying to stay as aggressive as I could,” Williams said. “I went back to the same warm-up routine that I did the year before. I did well with that warm up, so I figured I could try it again this year and it ended up being alright.”
Sophomore pitcher Chris Carmain was solid in relief of Williams, throwing two innings of no-hit baseball to close out the game.
Despite the win, Williams understandably left the series unsatisfied with the way things went over the three games.
“I thought we definitely should have come out with a series win. We thought we were better than them.” Williams said. “They just capitalized on the mistakes that we made, if we had been able to minimize those mistakes, we definitely come out with three wins.”
The Huskies will have a shot at revenge this Friday, albeit against a different CAA opponent. The squad will have their work cut out for them when they travel to Virginia, as they will hit the field against Richmond, who has won its last six games.
