By Bailey Knecht, News Correspondent
On Tuesday, the University of Connecticut proved that its basketball teams aren’t the only teams that excel at the school. The Northeastern baseball team fell to their Husky counterparts 2-0 at Friedman Diamond.
In the third inning, a double to centerfield by Connecticut sophomore Bobby Melley sent a runner home for the first score of the game. An RBI single by freshman infielder Aaron Hill put UConn up 2-0 in the fourth.
Redshirt-freshman Mike Fitzgerald and senior Brad Burcroff were able to keep UConn from scoring with their strong pitching in the second half of the game. The pair only allowed four hits in five innings.
Freshman infielder Jimmy Hand had some solid hits, notching a double to left field in the fifth inning.
“He’s coming off the bench for us here and there,” assistant coach Mike Glavine said of Hand. “So it’s good to see him get a big double and that opportunity with the bases loaded there as well. When guys come off the bench we expect them to come in and play just like they would if they were starting and try to provide some energy and life on offense.”
In the seventh inning, the bases were loaded for Northeastern. Sophomore infielder Mike Piscopo came to the plate with pressure to get the Huskies on the board but wasn’t able to send the runners home.
Despite getting runners into scoring position multiple times, Northeastern was unable to get on the scoreboard.
“We really have struggled all season long with runs in scoring position,” Glavine said. “We just don’t do the things that we’re capable of doing in those situations, and it’s happened time and time again.”
Connecticut held Northeastern to just three hits throughout the game.
“By this stage of the season, we’d like to see some improvement, and we’re really not improving there,” Glavine said of the team’s offensive struggles. “We just need to simplify things and try to hit the ball back up the middle.”
After Tuesday’s loss, the team traveled to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to take on the Minutemen in the first round of the Beanpot tournament.
“It’ll be a tough game,” Glavine said going into the matchup. “We’ll see if we can get some runs and some clutch hits. I would expect the same things that have happened for us pretty much all year, and that’s to pitch the ball really well.”
Looking to avoid a fifth loss in a row, the Huskies struck first with an early RBI single from freshman catcher Nick Fanneron.
The lead didn’t last long. UMass tied it up in the second and then took the lead in the third.
The Minutemen increased their lead in the sixth inning with three runs. Down 5-1, senior outfielder Connor Lyons hit an RBI single to bring his team to within three in the seventh. Redshirt sophomore infielder Michael Foster followed with an RBI single of his own, cutting the UMass lead to 5-3.
Northeastern’s freshman players continued the strong play that they have shown all season. Third baseman Cam Hanley picked up the first hit of his college career. The hit would lead to Northeastern’s two seventh inning runs. Freshman righty Will Jahn relieved junior southpaw Isaac Lippert and threw some solid late-game innings. UMass had the bases loaded in the seventh, but Jahn prevented any runs to keep the Huskies’ hopes alive.
Both teams failed to score again and the final result remained at 5-3 in favor of UMass, now with a 6-19 overall record. Northeastern’s record, which stood at 13-13 less than a week ago, fell to 13-18 with the loss.
This weekend, the Huskies will return to Friedman Diamond to face the Towson University Tigers in a three-game Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) series. The Tigers have a record of 15-12 but have struggled in CAA games.
On April 21, the Huskies will take on either Harvard or Boston College in the Beanpot consolation game at Northeastern.
