By Jimmy Brooks, News Staff
The metaphorical snowball keeps getting bigger and bigger. After going 2-2 last week, the baseball team found itself back to its early season ways, dropping four straight contests this week. The losing streak, which stood at three, increased to four when the Huskies registered a loss at home Wednesday afternoon against Rhode Island. The defeat came at a time when the Huskies desperately needed a win.
“The frustrating point for us now, is that this nightmare [losing streak] continues,” head coach Neil McPhee said. “We don’t think there is any team we cannot beat. That doesn’t mean we’re better than all the teams we play, but we’ve put ourselves in a position to win many of our games and haven’t.”
The nightmare that McPhee spoke of came to fruition once again, as a leadoff triple by utility player Greg Annarummo started the Rams off early against the Huskies. By the fourth inning, the Huskies found themselves down 4-0.
Just innings later, down 7-2 in the ninth, the game seemed out of reach.
Yet, with persistent effort, the squad scored four runs in the final frame, coming a run shy of tying the game. After RBI singles by senior co-captain Matt Miller, sophomore infielder Ricky Salvucci and sophomore catcher Jon Leroux, Northeastern had a shot of knotting things up.
Unfortunately, the Huskies’ efforts were not enough, as the Rams stifled the late-surging Huskies, ending the game with a 7-6 loss.
Despite the loss, the team fared much better in its second contest against the Rams this season; Rhode Island walloped the Huskies 12-4 in a late February face-off in West Palm Beach, Fl.
Earlier in the week, the 29-man roster traveled to Maryland to square off against Towson. The Huskies found themselves getting swept by a squad, which, much like Northeastern, has had difficulty increasing their win count. Despite a 5-15 record coming into the first game, Northeastern did not enter the series vs. the Tigers particularly outmatched; Towson came in with a basement level 8-16 record as well.
In what may be their most disheartening series all year, the Huskies lost all three games by a combined total of four runs. The first game of the lost series began well on Friday, as the Huskies jumped out to a 3-1 lead. Yet, like so many other times this season, the Huskies surrendered three unanswered runs, falling 4-3.
The following day, the Huskies trotted out to the diamond, just to have the same results repeated; despite a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning, the Huskies were unable to enlarge or retain their lead. The team’s bad luck caught up with them, as Towson scored three runs in the eighth inning to capture their second victory of the series.
“It’s frustrating to know we’re so close, and yet so far away,” McPhee said. “All we can do at this point is plug on.”
In the third and final game that ended with a series sweep of the Huskies, the Huskies once again came maddeningly close to squeaking out with a ninth inning rally, scoring a run in the final frame. Almost inevitably, however, the team fell by a final score of 5-4. Although the squad was saddled with yet another loss, McPhee still had plenty of positive remarks for his team.
“Sunday’s game is really a tribute to the players,” McPhee said. “It just showed that the character of the team is still there, to play game after game with such frustrating lack of success and to still maintain their competitiveness through the last out.”
This is a team that, despite weeks of consistently disappointing performances, still believes that it has the tools to win games in the CAA. Ask any coach or player on the squad if they have given up, and be ready to be met with a resounding “no chance.”
“Nobody has given up,” Miller said. “I can promise you that we’re going to compete and battle every single game we play.”
While it is worth noting that similar words have been spoken throughout the season, and that the Huskies continue to yield the same results, no other mindset can be held if the squad truly expects to win games. If the 5-19 team has anything going for it, it is the constantly optimistic mindset it holds.
But that doesn’t mean the players are taking the losses lightly.
“It’s really frustrating,” Miller said. “We gotta keep fighting, we gotta keep battling. You can’t feel sorry for yourself or the team or anybody else; you have to keep working and hopefully things will turn around.”
