By By Sam Wood, News Correspondent

‘ The baseball team’s three-game series at league-leading George Mason ended in disappointment with a sweep of the Huskies this weekend. The series marks the conclusion of a tough week for NU, which included a 16-13 loss at Harvard.
‘ Since winning the Beanpot April 13, the Huskies have gone 4-9, bringing their record to 22-20 for the season.
‘ ‘We’ve had a rough stretch the last week,’ head coach Neil McPhee said. ‘We knew that we were heading toward this difficult stretch, and we’ve got two weekends left and now we’ve got to catch up in the conference to make the tournament, but right now we’re still in the mix.’
‘ During Game One of the series against the Patriots, the Huskies battled back from an 8-0 deficit from the first two innings. Junior Ryan Quigley struggled early, allowing Mason to gain the eight-run lead, but quickly fell into his stride by striking out six batters in five innings.
‘ Northeastern gained momentum in the top of the third inning as senior second baseman James Donaldson drove in senior Mike Tamsin and junior Frank Compagnone.
‘ Senior lefthander Dan Zehr pitched the final three innings, allowing only two hits on 11 batters. But the surge of both offensive and defensive rallies proved to be too little, too late, as George Mason took the 9-6 win.
‘ Game Two, the first of Saturday’s seven-inning doubleheader, ended in a 12-5 loss after seven innings despite home runs from both Donaldson and junior outfielder David Gustafson.
‘ In the bottom of the third, George Mason exploded with five quick runs. NU sophomore pitcher Les Williams settled down and struck out five in three innings while allowing four hits. The Huskies trimmed the lead when Tamsin and senior co-captain catcher Frank Pesanello both scored, but their efforts were soon overshadowed by a six-run swell in the bottom of the sixth by Mason.
‘ In the final game of the series, the Huskies were once again defeated 8-3 by an unrelenting George Mason team, even after home runs by junior first baseman Brendan Stokes and sophomore infielder Ryan Maguire. Sophomore Trevor Smith had a great showing though, pitching five and two-thirds innings, allowing only four hits, two runs, and striking out six.
‘ ‘Our rotation has been strong with Thomsen and Les Williams, but the George Mason team is the best offensive team in the conference, and they simply beat our good pitching, so that’s the way it goes sometimes,’ McPhee said.
‘ On April 28 sophomore southpaw JT Ross was announced as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Pitcher of the Week for his effort a week prior. April 20 against Rhode Island he allowed only one hit in the 12-1 win.’ Ross is the first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) player to receive the honor. He was also named Pitcher of the Week in the conference.
‘ Northeastern now stands 8-10 in CAA. As the conference tournament nears, the Huskies need to limit the losses to remain in the running.
‘ ‘We probably can only afford one loss mathematically to ensure ourselves in the tournament, so naturally that’s the goal,’ McPhee said.
‘ The Huskies have recently improved offensively. McPhee said the team got impressive performances by Tamsin, Donaldson, Stokes, and freshman outfielder Matt Miller. Compagnone is also expected to make a big difference at the plate.
‘ ‘We had good pitching and timely hitting and that’s why we’ve been successful this year,’ Tamsin said. ‘We’re looking to put all aspects of the game together, with pitching and hitting and defense, so we can have a better chance of winning.’
‘ The Huskies will host Delaware this weekend after a game today against UMass at Friedman Diamond at 3 p.m.

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